


It's So Easy (And Other Lies)

by SailorLestrade



Category: Guns N' Roses, Mötley Crüe
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Coming Out, Engagement, F/M, Female Steven Adler, Fluff, Genderswap, Heartbreak, Internalized Homophobia, Love, Love Triangles, M/M, Marriage, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pregnancy, Smut, Sweet
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-17
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:07:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 29
Words: 57,812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21839461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SailorLestrade/pseuds/SailorLestrade
Summary: Stevie Adler likes Duff McKagan. She has for a while now, but she is convinced Duff doesn’t like her that way. Duff likes Stevie, but so does their new bandmate Axl Rose.
Relationships: Axl Rose/Izzy Stradlin, Steven Adler/Axl Rose, Steven Adler/Duff McKagan, Tommy Lee/Nikki Sixx
Comments: 227
Kudos: 64





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, basically this is completely AU with a lot of things that are different than Motley Crue or Guns n' Roses history. It's just going to be a fun story, so let me know what you guys think! I've had a lot of people asking for this, so I hope you guys like it!

When Slash told Axl that he knew of the perfect bassist and drummer for their new band, Axl didn’t really know what to expect. But it sure wasn’t a 6 foot 3 Irishman from Seattle, and the much shorter, but smiling blonde girl that accompanied him. Axl was confused as they made their way into the practice area.

“Uh, no girlfriends,” Axl said, letting himself check her out. She was in a pair of leather pants and a Motley Crue shirt that had been modified into a crop top. The girl was about to smart off to the redhead when Slash made his way over with a big smile on his face.

“Duff! Stevie!” Slash gave the taller man a high five before hugging the girl. “Glad you guys could make it.”

“Took a minute to get my drums loaded, but we’re here,” Stevie replied. She turned to look at the frontman, a smirk on her face. “You must be Axl.”

“Yeah?” He stared at her. Duff had went off with Slash to meet Izzy, leaving Stevie and Axl alone.

“I saw you in LA Guns a few times. You’ve got some lungs on you,” Stevie matched his stare and smirked. “I’m Stevie Adler. And I’m your drummer.” Axl noticed then that she was holding a pair of drumsticks.

“You’re the drummer Slash was talking about?” Axl questioned. She smiled bigger and nodded. “But you’re a…”

“Girl?” She asked, crossing her arms over her chest. “Is there a rule that rockstars can only be sweaty dudes with dyed hair?”

“Hey, my hair’s natural!” Axl told her, making her laugh.

“Didn’t say it was you Red,” She laughed. “But you’re cute when you get mad.” She walked past him, heading over to Duff and Slash. Axl watched her walk away from him, watching as Slash introduced her to Izzy.

“Fuck,” Axl breathed, running a hand down his face. He was so screwed.

“Earth to Axl,” Izzy waved his hand in front of the singers face. Axl blinked a couple times and looked up at him. “You okay? You kinda spaced out.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Axl waved him off.

“Well, we’re just waiting on them to get set up before we can play,” Izzy told him. “Slash went to help Duff and Stevie bring the drums in.”

“What do you think of her?” Axl asked.

“Who? Stevie?” Izzy asked. Axl nodded. “She’s pretty cool. Just like one of the guys I guess.” He shrugged. Axl just nodded again and watched as the trio lugged in the drum set up. Stevie had her hair pulled back. Slash and Duff set the drums where she wanted them and she tuned them. Axl couldn’t stop watching her the whole time. She did everything with a grace and elegance that he had never seen in a drummer before. His experience with drummers came from the bands in the past, watching the likes of Tommy Lee and Keith Moon. Crazy, chaotic, but full of so much passion.

Axl didn’t even realize he had been staring until someone stood in his line of sight.

“You’re staring,” Duff crossed his arms over his chest and stared down at Axl.

“Just wanting to...uh, see what she does with her drums,” Axl told him, giving him a sheepish smile. Duff stared at him. He knew why Axl was staring. It was the reason all guys stared.

“Yeah, sure,” Duff shook his head. “Let me just tell you this now. Stevie doesn’t date people in her band.”

“What?” Axl asked. “I don’t want to date her. I’m seriously just wondering what sets her apart from any other drummer on the strip. I mean, other than the obvious...” Duff just eyed the redhead. He knew there was a deeper meaning to what Axl was saying. He looked over at Stevie, who high fived Slash when she got everything set up and done.

“Okay boys, who’s ready to play?” Stevie tossed a stick up in the air and caught it.

“What are we playing?” Izzy asked, grabbing his guitar.

“What about Detroit Rock City?” Slash suggested with a smile. He knew that Stevie was obsessed with Kiss. He had to stop her from painting her face like one of them every year for Halloween. Stevie’s eyes widened at the suggestion and she was pretty much bouncing with excitement.

“I fucking LOVE Kiss!” She laughed. “Let’s do that song!”

“I’m cool with that,” Duff laughed and got his bass. Axl got the mic that was set up and the five piece launched into “Detroit Rock City”. Axl had to admit, Duff’s bassline was perfect, and Stevie’s drums were a lot better than he expected.

“That was so cool guys!” Stevie called out when they were done. Duff smiled at her, glad that she was so happy. But Axl was watching her too. He had never met anyone like Stevie Adler before. Most girls that tried to be in bands on the strip tried to present themselves as a Joan Jett meets Elvira, or Madonna wannabes. But not Stevie.

“I don’t know about you guys, but I think we have a band,” Izzy smirked over at Axl. “What do you think?”

“I, uh, yeah,” Axl nodded. “Yeah, I think we do.” Stevie hugged Duff then before hugging Slash next. “She’s a very huggy person, isn’t she?”

“Come here Red, you get one too,” She gave Axl a hug then moved on to Izzy. Axl stood there, not sure what to do next. Slash watched him for a second before looking back over at Stevie. “Shit! I’m late for work!” She explained when she saw the dirty digital clock on the microwave. She looked at Izzy. “Can I leave my drums?”

“Uh, yeah,” He nodded.

“Thanks!” She grabbed the bag she had brought with her and ran to the bathroom to change into her uniform. She came back out in the waitress uniform that she had to wear. She worked a shift at a diner right on the strip. It didn’t pay good, but drunks always gave her good tips. “I’ll see you later boys!” She ran out of the apartment they had been practicing in.

“What just happened?” Axl asked. Duff chuckled.

“Stevie’s a bit of an airhead at times, but she does have a job, so that helps,” Duff explained. “I just hope she doesn’t get fired.” He strummed on his bass some. Izzy went to the fridge and got some beers for the four of them. Axl accepted it and took a big drink.

“She’s cute,” Izzy pointed out. “She single?” He was trying to help out Axl, not that Axl really knew it. Axl glared at the guitarist.

“Yeah, I guess. I dunno,” Duff shrugged. “But she won’t date any of you as long as you’re in a band with her. You have better luck getting it on with Vince Neil.”

“Gross,” Axl shook his head.

“Don’t worry, you’re not his type,” Slash told him. “He doesn’t like redheads.”

“Oh, fuck you!” Axl rolled his eyes. Duff laughed as he watched the banter unfold in front of him. But he wouldn’t be hanging around here all night. Soon, he’d head out soon, go grab some food at Stevie’s work, before heading out to the strip to watch some bands while waiting for her to get off of work.

But he had a band again, and that’s all he really cared about.


	2. Chapter 2

“Stevie! Your boy is here!” One of the other waitresses called out as Duff walked into the diner. Stevie’s head popped up to where Duff could see her through the kitchen window. She smiled big as she came out and led him to her section. All her co-workers knew that he always sat in her section.

“Hey Duff,” She got his drink ready for him. Same thing he always wanted and she had it memorized. “I wasn’t sure if you’d come in tonight. I thought you’d hang out with the other guys.”

“I like the company here better,” He laughed a little. “What’s the special tonight?”

“Bacon cheeseburger,” She told him. “Want one?”

“Of course,” He watched her go put his order in and come back over to him. “So, what do you think of the guys?”

“I like ‘em,” She told him, retying her apron. “I mean, we already knew Slash. Izzy’s quiet but cool.”

“What about Axl?” Duff asked, drumming on the Formica table.

“I think he spent more time checking me out than anything,” She laughed. “Red’s something else.”

“Like a...a good something else or…” 

“Duff, you know I won’t be dating him,” Stevie shook her head. She missed the blond breathing out a small sigh of relief. “There’s plenty of other guys on the strip though! And when we hit it big…” She smiled at him. “Anyway, what do you think of them?”

“I personally think Axl’s an ass,” Duff laughed. “But their pretty cool. Can’t wait to start playing regularly. I need to quit mooching off your paychecks.” Stevie smiled at him. She put her hand on top of his for a brief moment.

“You know I don’t mind. You drive me around and all that good shit,” She went to go check on the couple orders she had. Duff watched her as she walked away. He sighed a little bit and took a drink of the Coke she had brought him. He would never have a shot with her, not with her rules in place. Not like she would even like someone like him anyway. She deserved better than a high school dropout that was going nowhere. 

He was pulled from his train of thought when she sat his plate in front of him and smiled.

“Boss said he might let me go early since it’s slow tonight,” She told him. “Maybe I could meet up with you and catch a show?”

“I’d love that,” He smiled at her. “And if not, I’ll be here to pick you up when your shift is over.”

“Duff…”

“I don’t want you walking alone,” He told her. “There’s a lot of creeps and weirdos out there.”

“But you’re out there…” 

“Exactly! I’m a creep and a weirdo!” Stevie laugh a little and rolled her eyes some.

“Okay, okay,” She told him. “Let me see if he’s gonna let me go. If not, it’ll be around midnight.” She left him again and Duff dug into his food. This place didn’t have the best food by any means, but the wait staff made Duff want to come back. Of course, he only came in on days that one waitress was working. And everyone knew that.

Duff looked over to where Stevie was. She had been stopped by a regular to the diner, and whatever he was saying to her was making her laugh, and making Duff’s blood boil. He played in one of the other bands that they saw make the circuit, and him and Duff had argued over bass techniques more than a few times. He took a drink and slammed his cup down a little hard, which caused Stevie and the guy to look over at him. Duff quickly hid his eyes and went back to eating his burger.

“I’ll talk to you later Rachel,” Stevie told him with a smile before going back over to Duff. “You okay?”

“Yeah. Cup slipped. Didn’t want you to get docked if I break it,” He gave her a smile and she bought his lie.

“Well, I get out of here at ten,” She told him. “What club are you gonna be at?”

“I’ll come back here at ten and walk with you,” He told her.

“Duff, it’s like twenty feet. Not like I’m walking back to our apartment alone,” She laughed. “And I have my knife in my bag if anyone tries anything.”

“Stevie…”

“Duff…” She crossed her arms over her chest. She might be smaller than him, but she had a mean stare and she could be really feisty when she needed to be. She didn’t like that her roommates and best friends thought she needed protected all the time. She was more than capable of taking care of herself.

“Okay, fine. I think I’m gonna go see Warrant over at the Roxy. But if the show sucks before you get outta here, I’ll be here to get you at ten,” Duff told her.

“Okay, okay,” She kissed his cheek. “You’re worse than my mom sometimes, you know that?”

“Can’t help it,” He shrugged and smiled at her. “I’ll see you later?”

“I’ll be at the Roxy,” She laughed. She headed off to check on her tables while Duff finished up and settled his bill with Susan.

“When are you two just gonna date already?” Susan asked, making sure to give Duff the employee discount.

“Eh, she doesn’t like me that way. We’re just friends,” Duff told her. “But God, I’d love to change her mind.”

“Well, you two just need to pull your heads out of your asses before she ends up marrying someone a lot worse than you,” Susan handed him his change.

“Thanks Susan,” He waved bye to her and headed out onto the strip, all ready to be back at the diner at ten to pick Stevie up. He didn’t care how good the concert was.

****

“Hey McKagan!” One of Duff’s coworkers clapped him on the back. He worked part time at a mechanic, and he hadn’t worked in awhile, but they still knew who he was. “Where’s your girl?”

“Stevie’s not my girl,” Duff told him, shaking his head. “She’s at work.”

“Damn. Thought she’d go crazy over blondie up there,” He teased Duff, making the bassist glare at him. Then something clicked in Duff’s head.

“Hey man, you got the time?” Duff asked. The guy looked at his watch.

“It’s five after ten…” He told him.

“Fuck!” Duff sat his drink down and went running out of the bar, heading for the diner.

“Was it something I said?” The other guy asked his buddies, who just shrugged in response.

****

“Where are we going tonight?” Izzy asked Axl as him, Slash, and Axl made their way down the strip.

“Not sure yet,” Axl shrugged. “Nothing just jumps out to me as good, you know?”

“Hey guys, isn’t that Stevie over there?” Slash asked. He pointed to the diner, where Stevie was leaving. She was wearing the leather pants and crop top she had been wearing earlier, and had her uniform in her bag. Axl smiled some. He didn’t see Duff anywhere around her.

“Stevie!” Axl called out. The drummer stopped and turned. When she saw the trio, her face lit up.

“Hey Red!” She laughed. “Hey Slash and Izzy!”

“Hey,” The two guitarists said at once.

“What are you up to?” Axl asked, walking up to her.

“Just got off work, heading over to the Roxy to see a band with Duff,” She told him with a smile.

“I think we’re gonna go over to the Whiskey. Why don’t you come with us?” Axl asked.

“We are?” Slash asked. Izzy elbowed him, causing Slash to glare at him.

“Yeah, it’ll be fun,” Axl told her. “Get to know the band. Can show you some songs we got. All that good stuff.”

“Well, I think Duff’s waiting on me and…” Stevie started.

“Duff can catch up with us later,” Axl told her. “Come on, everything I know about you, I learned from Slash. And I’m honestly not sure how much he remembers.” Stevie laughed.

“Well, okay,” Stevie smiled. “Let’s go to the Whiskey then.” Axl threw his arm over her shoulders and smiled.

“Let’s go boys!” Axl told them. “I think Cinderella is playing tonight.” 

****

Duff raced back to the diner, mad at himself. He had wanted to be there when she left. He knew she could take care of herself, but there were lots of people on the strip that wouldn’t mind taking care of her as well. And he had promised himself that he would never let anything happen to her as long as he knew her.

“Stevie?” Duff called out when he got to the diner, but he didn’t see her anywhere. “Stevie!” He looked around, trying to figure out where she would’ve gone to. He started walking down the strip, keeping his eyes peeled. She couldn’t have gotten very far...

That’s when he saw a mass of curly hair underneath a hat, and he knew it was Slash. He was hoping that maybe he had seen her and could point him in the right direction. He watched as Slash and Izzy got in line at the Whiskey and headed up to them.

“Hey guys!” Duff called out. Slash turned to look at Duff.

“Hey man, thought you were at the Roxy,” Slash told him. That’s when he saw Stevie standing there with Axl’s arm wrapped around her. Her eyes lit up when she saw the bassist.

“Hey Duff!” She pulled away from Axl. “Axl asked me to go with them to see whoever’s playing at the Whiskey.”

“Well, then let’s make it a full band thing,” Duff jumped into the line with them, much to Axl’s annoyance. “The Roxy kinda sucked anyway.” Axl looked over at the bassist before glancing back at Izzy and Slash. Both of them just shrugged.

“So, when are you going to show me the songs you’re working on?” Stevie asked Axl as they waited in line.

“Oh, I’ll show you tomorrow during practice,” He told her. She smiled and nodded before turning to talk to Izzy and Slash. Axl and Duff made eye contact then, silently telling the other one to back off.

And Stevie, she had no clue.


	3. Chapter 3

“So, how’d you get the name Stevie?” Izzy asked as the five of them sat in a round booth. Axl and Duff were on each side of her, Duff had his arm on the back of the booth behind her.

“Well, my birth name was Micayla Coletti,” Stevie explained. “Named after my birth dad. But he walked out on mom and I when I was a little thing. So when he did, mom changed my name. I have an aunt who’s nickname was Stevie, so mom called me that in her honor. And then my step dad adopted me, and Micayla Coletti became Stevie Adler.”

“I like it,” Axl took a puff of his cigarette. “Makes me think of Stevie Nicks.”

“Right? Isn’t she the coolest?” Stevie smiled. “I don’t think I could pull off the flower crowns or anything though.”

“I think you could,” Duff played with her long hair. Stevie leaned against him for a moment.

“Anyone want another round?” Izzy asked then, going to get up. Stevie sat upright.

“I’ll help you!” She climbed over Duff to get out of the booth and headed to the bar with Izzy, leaving Slash, Axl, and Duff at the table. Slash could see the tension between the bassist and the frontman, but he knew neither would back down. But he also knew if Axl got fed up and fired Duff, that Stevie would follow him. They were best friends after all.

“So...we’ll go over the music tomorrow,” Slash told Duff as he lit a cigarette.

“That sounds cool,” Duff nodded. “I think I have some music too.” Axl was about to smart off when Stevie and Izzy came back with their drinks. Stevie placed a glass of vodka in front of Duff and smiled at him before handing Axl a glass of Jack.

“Izzy said you like Jack,” she told him.

“My favorite,” He smiled at her. Slash looked over at Izzy, confused. Axl liked Jack, but it sure as hell wasn’t his favorite. He had made sure that Slash knew that time and time again. 

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t Guns n’ Roses,” A voice piped up. “I think you’ve got one of our girls.”

“Oh, fuck off Vince,” Axl rolled his eyes. Nikki Sixx, Vince Neil, and Tommy Lee stood there, staring at the band.

“Hey sweetie, a real band is here now. You can leave these losers,” Nikki chuckled.

“She’s our drummer,” Izzy told them.

“You got a chick drummer?” Tommy laughed. Stevie smirked at him.

“I could’ve said the same about you a couple years ago,” Stevie smarted off. Duff smiled at her.

“Ooh, you’re mean,” Tommy leaned in close to her. “And I think I love you.”

“Nice try,” She laughed. She grabbed her drink and downed it.

“Damn, a girl after my heart,” Nikki wrapped his arm around her. “Hey, I’m Nikki.”

“Stevie,” She pulled away from him. “And you gotta do better than that to get that close to me.”

“She’s tough. I like her,” Vince laughed. “Can’t wait to see her play.”

“Well, we’re aiming for the Troubadour next week,” Axl spat. Slash and Izzy looked at each other.

“We are?” Izzy asked. Axl kicked his shin. “Fuck!”

“Yes we are. We sound awesome.” Axl all but sneered.

“Need some material?” Vince asked. “I know yours is probably lacking.” Axl went to launch himself at the blond man, but Stevie stood between them.

“Well, Vince,” Stevie let her eyes roam over him. “I think you’re the one that’s lacking, from what I’ve heard from girls on the strip.”

“Ooooo!” Tommy high fived her. Vince and Stevie glared at each other.

“Well, I think I have something to do over there,” Vince grumbled, walking off. Stevie laughed a little and turned to look at Duff and Axl.

“I think we’ll just hang out here,” Nikki pushed Duff towards Axl and took the spot that would be Stevie’s. Tommy pulled up a chair to the table and pulled Stevie into his lap. Duff stared at Tommy for a second.

“I’ve seen you around the circuit,” Nikki told Duff, pulling his attention away from the two drummers. “Pretty good bassist.”

“Thanks,” Duff nodded. “Hopefully, this won’t end up like other bands I’ve been in.”

“You’re already doing better than Nikki was,” Tommy butted in, making Stevie laugh.

“What Tommy’s meaning is, you sound really good. Can’t wait to have the competition,” Nikki told him, motioning for a bottle of Jack from one of the servers who knew Motley Crue all too well.

“And you’ve got a drummer who can mouth off with the best of them. I haven’t seen Vinnie speechless since Ozzy licked Nikki’s piss up,” Tommy laughed.

“I can’t believe we associate with you,” Izzy groaned. “We need a new hangout or something.”

“Tommy, Nikki, and Mick are pretty cool,” Slash shrugged. “Can’t really speak much for Vince.”

“I think he’s a prick,” Axl snorted.

“You’re just jealous he has a worse temper than you Rose,” Nikki laughed. Nikki glanced at Duff, watching the way he kept looking at Stevie, who was laughing at some story Tommy was telling her. Axl glanced up at her too, before something Slash was telling him distracted him.

“What’s the story with you and blondie over there?” Nikki asked Duff.

“Who? Stevie?” Duff asked. Nikki nodded. “She’s my best friend. We’ve been friends for years.”

“I see,” Nikki nodded. “Her and Tommy seem to be hitting it off really well.”

“Yeah…” Duff drank his vodka. He heard Stevie laughing. Whatever Tommy was telling her was the funniest thing she had ever heard.

The two members of Motley Crue hung out with them for the night. Vince came back over after nursing his ego. He brought shots with him and slid one over to Stevie.

“Show me what you can really do with that mouth,” He taunted her. She smirked and picked up the shot.

“You’d enjoy it too much Neil,” She tossed the shot back and slammed the glass on the table. Duff watched Vince lick his lips before he took his own shot. He could tell that the Motley Crue boys were eyeing her, and hell, Vince was undressing her the longer he stared.

“How about another?” Vince asked with a grin on his face.

“I think I’d rather get my own,” Stevie stood up from where she had been sitting on Tommy’s lap. “Come on drummer boy. Buy me a drink.” She pulled Tommy to his feet.

“Dudes, I think I’m in love,” He laughed before walking with her over to the bar. Duff gripped his glass as he watched them, then looked over at Axl, who was staring at them too.

“Fuck this,” Duff growled to himself. He nudged Nikki, who let him out of the booth. Duff headed towards the bar and stopped when he saw Tommy making her laugh again. She looked happy, standing there with him. And Duff wasn’t going to ruin her happiness. So, he looked to his right and saw a girl sitting at a table, eyeing him the way Vince was Stevie. “Hey.”

“Hey yourself,” She smiled at him.

“Wanna get out of here?” He asked. She sat her glass down and got her purse.

“Your place or mine?” She asked. Duff rested his hand on her lower back and started to walk out with her, glancing over at Stevie. And for a moment, he swore she looked heartbroken when she looked back at him. But he shrugged it off and walked out of the bar with what’s her name.

“Stevie? Earth to Stevie!” Tommy waved his hand in front of her face. Stevie turned to look at him. “You okay?”

“I’m great,” She told him. She put a smile on her face and ordered a drink, downing it faster than Tommy had ever seen a girl do. Even Lita, and she drank like a fish.

“Is Duff your boyfriend?” Tommy asked. He saw the flash of hurt across Stevie’s face.

“Nope,” She told him. “Just a friend and roommate. That’s all.”

“Yeah, because I totally would look like that for just a roommate and a friend,” Tommy pointed out.

“Tommy…” Stevie looked up at him. “Please just drop it, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah,” He nodded. She got her drink and headed back over to the table. Izzy and Vince had went to shoot some pool. Stevie sat by Slash and curled into his side. He wrapped his arm around her.

“You okay sis?” He asked. She nodded and sipped her drink. Nikki looked over at her then got up to where Tommy was cheering on Vince playing pool. He slapped the drummer’s arm.

“Ow!” Tommy called out.

“What did you do to her?” Nikki hissed.

“I didn’t do anything!” Tommy defended. “Why do I always get blamed for shit?”

“Because most of the time you do the shit!” Nikki told him.

“Well, she was fine until what’s his face left with another chick,” Tommy told him. “But she said they’re just friends and roommates.”

“They’re roommates?” Nikki asked.

“Yeah,” Izzy piped up. “Her, Slash, and Duff share an apartment somewhere. I’m just trying to figure out how we just met her.”

“Can we just play some pool?” Vince asked. “Or are we gonna talk about that chick all night?” Nikki rolled his eyes and headed back to the table.

“Why don’t we head home?” Slash asked. “Night kinda sucks.”

“Yeah, sure,” Stevie nodded, getting up from the table. Axl got up too.

“Going home?” He asked.

“Yeah, I’m beat,” She smiled at him “I’ll see you tomorrow Red. Promise.” She gave him a hug before heading out of the bar with Slash, leaving Axl standing there, watching them.

****

“Okay, you’re mopey,” Slash pointed out as they found his car and got in. “What gives?”

“I’m just tired,” She wrapped her arms around herself.

“You were perfectly fine until Duff left,” He told her. “Did he say something to you?”

“No,” She shook his head. And that was the problem. He didn’t even say anything to her when he left. She knew he looked over at her, but it didn’t seem to matter. She just sighed and looked out the window as they drove to the apartment they shared with Duff.

Slash and Stevie had become friends long before they had met Duff. Stevie was a snot nosed punk who had been shipped off to live with her grandparents, and Slash was bounced back and forth between his eccentric mother and his own grandparents. Slash had been hanging out in front of the school when Stevie rode past on a skateboard, determined to prove herself to the older, more mature skaters. And she would have too, if she hadn’t looked backwards and face planted on the sidewalk.

Slash had helped her up, and the two had been friends ever since, Slash seeing her as a sister he always wanted.

“You know, I can read you better than anyone,” Slash commented.

“I don’t want to talk about it,”

“So, there is an it…”

Stevie groaned and laid her head back against the seat.

“I just want to go home and get some sleep before we go back and work with Axl and Izzy tomorrow, okay?” Stevie sighed.

“Fine,” Slash nodded, pulling the car in front of their building. They had been lucky to get a three bedroom apartment. It was small as hell, but they each had their own space. And one tiny bathroom, and a tiny kitchen, but they had a home. They got out of the car and headed up to their apartment. But, upon entering, Stevie wished she hadn’t.

“Oh god,” Stevie whispered, hearing Duff with the girl from the bar. She closed her eyes and turned to leave, but Slash grabbed her arm and pulled her to his room, which was farther away from Duff’s. He handed her a pair of headphones and put a Kiss album in his Walkman.

“Here. I’ll grab a shirt from your room,” He told her. Stevie put the headphones on and started playing the album, glad that the sound of Paul Stanley singing could drown out everything she was hearing. She looked up when Slash came back in and handed her the clothes he had grabbed. It was awkward trying to change with the headphones on, but she wasn’t taking them off. She sat down on Slash bed while he changed into a pair of boxers. They had seen each other naked more times than they cared to think about. It didn’t even shock them anymore.

“You okay?” Slash asked, moving one of the headphones aside when he sat down on his bed.

“I’m fine,” She whispered, wiping at her eyes. Slash wrapped an arm around her and pulled her into his side.

“Let’s get some sleep then,” He told her. “I’ll put a tape in the stereo. The speaker is right by you.” She nodded and he handed her a box of cassettes, letting her pick out the one that she wanted. “The Clash? Really?”

“Yeah,” She nodded. Slash loaded the cassette and let it play. He pulled her to him as they laid there, listening to the Clash.

“You know, this could all be solved if you just told him that you liked him,” Slash told her. He felt her shake her head and sighed. “Okay, okay. Night Stevie.”

“Night Slash,” She whispered, letting her eyes fall closed and focusing on the music of the Clash.


	4. Chapter 4

It was early the next morning when Duff led the girl from the bar out of the apartment. He hadn’t gotten her name, not that he really cared to. He shut the door behind her and rested his head against it for a minute. He thought about making some coffee and getting woke up, but he decided against it, heading back towards his room. He stopped outside of Stevie’s door, which was standing wide open. That was unusual. She really valued her privacy, and normally had the door shut. 

“Stevie?” Duff asked, looking into her room. But it was empty. He didn’t think she had to work this morning. Her boss normally had her working the later shifts. He looked to the other side of the apartment to where Slash’s room was. The door was open a little bit, and Duff stepped closer to see Stevie curled up on Slash’s bed, covered up while Slash was sprawled out, snoring.

If Duff would’ve looked closer, he would’ve seen what looked to be tear tracks running down Stevie’s face. But she was sleeping soundly, so he quietly backed out, heading back to his own room.

Stevie woke up a little bit later, stretching and laughing a bit at Slash snoring. She couldn’t figure out how he never suffocated himself with that thick hair of his covering his face. She got out of bed and headed to the bathroom. When she got out, she heard Slash grumbling and getting out of bed.

“Didn’t think you’d be awake,” She told him as she headed to the small kitchen. She rummaged through the cabinets, finding a half empty box of cereal. But she knew they didn’t have any milk, so she hopped up on the counter and started eating it straight from the box.

“Kinda hard to stay asleep when your boney knees aren’t pressed into my side,” Slash grumbled, finding a clean cup and getting himself some water.

“I’m not boney,” Stevie rolled her eyes. God, why did she feel tired still?

“Yeah, and Axl enjoyed being a hayseed,” Slash laughed a bit. “You feeling any better?”

“Didn’t feel bad,” Stevie shrugged. Slash shook his head.

“You and I both know that’s bullshit,” He gulped his water. “Why don’t you and I see about finding ourselves another place? There’s plenty of apartments along the strip.”

“Slash…”

“And we can like actually decorate it, and have a nice setup for your drums. It’ll be cool,” Slash looked at her. “I don’t want to watch you get your heart broke anymore.”

“I’m a big girl, and I’m not getting my heart broken. I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Stevie sighed. “We need to get some milk or something. I can’t keep eating these frosted flakes dry.”

****

Duff had woken up when he heard someone messing in the bathroom. Well, actually, he had never really fallen asleep. Something in the back of his mind kept bothering him, and he wasn’t sure what it was. He laid in bed, staring up at the ceiling for a bit before finally getting up. He heard Slash moving around.

He walked out of his bedroom and towards the kitchen.

“And we can like actually decorate it, and have a nice setup for your drums. It’ll be cool. I don’t want to watch you get your heart broke anymore.”

“I’m a big girl, and I’m not getting my heart broken. I don’t know what you’re talking about...”

“What?” Duff asked himself. He headed into the kitchen, where he saw Stevie sitting cross legged on the counter, eating cereal out of the box, and Slash leaning against the refrigerator. “Morning guys.”

“Hey Duff,” Stevie popped some more cereal into her mouth.

“Hey man,” Slash nodded at him.

“Watchya guys talking about?” Duff leaned on the counter by Stevie. Stevie looked over at Slash.

“Talking about moving out,” Slash grumbled.

“Oh?” Duff asked, keeping it cool on the outside, but on the inside, the thought scared him. “Why?”

“Well, you didn’t think the three of us would live together forever, did you?” Slash asked. Duff looked at Stevie, who couldn’t look at him. She stared at the back of the cereal box like it was the most interesting thing in the world.

“Can’t we save this moving out talk for after we play with the band for real?” Duff asked.

“Yeah, yeah,” Slash waved him off. He headed back to his room to change into some clothes. Duff looked over at Stevie, who was still avoiding him.

“Stevie?” Duff asked. “You okay?”

“Me? Oh I’m fantastic,” She smiled at him. “Things are finally looking up, you know?”

“Yeah…” Duff watched her, wanting to say more, but not sure what to say besides begging her not to move out yet.

“Well, I guess I’ll go get changed so we can head over to play with the others,” Stevie hopped down from the counter, Duff watching her.

“Hey Stevie?” Duff said, stopping her. The drummer turned to look at him.

“Yeah?”

“I, uh,” He rubbed his neck. “I know it’s a little cramped right now, but when we make it big, maybe we could split a bigger place.” He gave her a small smile. “It just wouldn’t be home without you guys, you know?” Stevie laughed a little.

“You say that until you try to score and Slash and I cockblock,” She turned back around and headed to her room. Duff sighed and headed to his own room.

Maybe practice would help.

****

“Hey Red!” Stevie bounced into the apartment where Izzy and Axl were waiting. Izzy watched as Axl’s face lit up when the girl came in, followed by Duff and Slash.

“Well, you seem to be in a better mood than last night when you left,” Axl laughed. Stevie smiled brightly.

“Sleep cures most things,” She told him, going over to her drums, happy that they were in the same spot she left them in yesterday.

“Wait, what?” Duff asked, looking over at her. She shrugged and tossed her drumstick in the air.

“I was tired. You know how I get,” She told him. “Now, are we gonna play, or are we going to talk?” Duff looked over at Slash, who shrugged.

“I dunno man. Chicks are weird,” He told him before going to get his guitar set up. Duff sighed and went to his bass, watching as Axl walked up to the drums to talk to Stevie. He was whispering something to her and she started laughing. Duff looked down at his bass and on his wrist, he saw a braided bracelet she had given him one year for Christmas. They were hard up for money, and she had made it herself and given it to him. He hadn’t taken it off since that day.

Honestly, it was the day he realized that he really liked her.

And now, he felt like he was losing her. Either to Axl, or Tommy Fucking Lee, or someone else out there on the strip.

“Duff man, you still here?” Izzy asked, nudging him. Duff blinked and looked up to see Stevie testing out her drums to make sure they were still tuned right.

“I’m good,” Duff nodded. Slash handed Duff some music to go over. 

“This is gonna be awesome,” Stevie smiled at the four boys. “Let’s play!”


	5. Chapter 5

**One Week Later**

**The Troubadour**

“I, for one, think this is a horrible idea,” Izzy pointed out as they got ready for their show. Stevie was fluffing up her hair in the mirror, Duff and Axl watching her.

“You think everything is a horrible idea Izzy,” Stevie told him.

“Yeah, well, the world is a horrible place,” He shook his head. “And we’ve only been playing together for like a week.” Stevie stood up and cupped Izzy’s face in her hands.

“We sound fucking awesome,” She told him. “And if anyone says anything, I have a can of Aquanet and a lighter.” She smirked at him.

“Okay, arson later. We’re on,” Axl told them. “Let’s do this guys.”

The band headed out to the edge of the stage. Izzy looked out around the side and saw the people gathering. He looked over at Slash.

“We got this man,” He clapped the other guitarist on the back.

“Come on, let’s go,” Axl told them, leading them out onto the stage.

****

“Ladies and gentlemen, the Troubadour is proud to present...Guns n’ Roses!” The man on the stage said. Vince, Tommy, Nikki, and Mick were at a table. There was no way they were missing this.

“This oughta be good,” Vince sipped his beer.

“Woo! Stevie!” Tommy called out, clapping his hands.

“Who’s Stevie?” Mick asked, looking over at Nikki for an explanation.

“Tommy’s newest crush,” Nikki told the guitarist.

“She’s not my crush. She’s like the little sister I always wanted,” Tommy told them, drinking his Jack.

“Wait, don’t you have a little sister?” Vince asked.

“Yeah. But I wanted another one,” Tommy shrugged. Mick rubbed his forehead.

“I feel myself getting dumber every time I hang out with him,” He groaned. He looked at the stage as Stevie settled herself behind the drums and the other boys got their positions.

“Here’s a song about your fucking mother,” Axl smirked at the crowd. Duff and Stevie looked at each other before Slash launched into the guitar for Aerosmith’s “Mama Kin”. Stevie got the drumline going, and soon, they had the crowd right where they wanted them. All eyes were on them, even from the Motley Crue boys. Stevie had a big smile on her face as they launched into their next song.

“That was fucking awesome!” Stevie hugged Slash when they got backstage. “We’re amazing!”

“Damn right sis,” Slash laughed, kissing her forehead. “We should, like, fucking celebrate or something.”

“Guns n’ Roses, huh?” Vince asked as the band joined them backstage. “You’re actually sticking with that?”

“I think it’s a fantastic name,” Stevie rolled her eyes at Vince. “Hi Tommy!”

“Hey Stevie!” He hugged her and smiled. “You sounded fantastic!” Nikki elbowed Duff.

“Guess I do got some competition with you McKagan,” Nikki laughed. “You’re a pretty alright bassist.”

“Thanks man,” Duff nodded. The two bands chatted for a bit before some fans got backstage, all over Motley Crue. One girl made her way up to Duff.

“Hey, I saw you play,” She laughed. “I’m Kae.”

“Duff,” He told her. He could feel eyes on him, but didn’t turn to see it who it was.

But Slash knew.

“Stevie, what are you doing?” He asked. Stevie narrowed her eyes and made her way over to Duff, burying herself in his side. Duff looked down, a little confused.

“Uh, hi?” Kae asked, staring at Stevie. “We’re having a conversation.”

“Sorry, but we have a band meeting,” Stevie told her with a bit of bitterness in her voice. “Stevie Adler. I’m the drummer.” Duff laughed bit. He had never seen her like this before, but he kind of liked it.

"Yeah, sorry. I forgot about the band meeting," Duff told Kae. She rolled her eyes and walked off. Duff wrapped an arm around Stevie and smiled a little bit. Tommy watched them for a moment before turning back to Izzy and talking to him.

Duff and Stevie, though, were the happiest they had been in awhile, pressed up against each other. They just didn’t know that the other one was as well.

****

The band started getting traction fast. The crowds started getting bigger and they had fans always there, cheering them on. The first big check they got from one of their bar gigs had made Stevie so excited. She hugged Slash and Duff tightly.

“We keep getting money like this and you guys will be able to get me out of your hair,” She laughed, playing with one of Slash’s curls. She missed the look on Duff’s face when she said that.

When Stevie went to work that afternoon, Duff went down to one of the boutiques on the strip and picked up a Kiss t-shirt for Stevie. He laid it on her bed then went about his afternoon and evening. Went to see her at work, at the special, the same thing he always did.

But that night, there were some teenagers in the diner causing trouble for the wait staff, and Axl and Izzy were at another booth, watching them torment everyone. Both Axl and Duff looked up as one of the shitheads slapped Stevie’s ass. She barely had time to say anything to them when a redhead and blonde were out of their seats and looming down at the kid.

“Duff? Axl?” Stevie asked, staring at her the two musicians.

“You don’t touch her without asking. Ever,” Axl hissed at the teen. He just gulped and nodded. Stevie looked over at Izzy, who just gave her a small smile.

“Apologize. Now.” Duff demanded.

“S-sorry,” The teenager told Stevie. She sighed and nodded before heading back to the kitchen. She came out a bit later to bring Duff, Axl, and Izzy their food.

“You okay?” Duff asked when she dropped his plate off for him.

“Duff, I know you’re trying to protect me, but I can take care of myself,” She told him. “I’m not some helpless chick. You and Slash taught me how to fight. I have my knife.”

“I know, I know,” Duff sighed. “I just don’t want to see you get treated the way some of those girls out on the strip do.” He reached out and took her hand. “Because I…”

“Stevie!” Her boss called out. “Need your help back here!”

“Coming!” She called back to him. She pulled her hand from Duff and headed back into the kitchen, leaving Duff sitting there. He sighed and picked at his food.

But he waited around for her, and when she got off at midnight, he was there.

“Hey,” He opened the car door for her. “You look exhausted.”

“I am,” She sighed. “I hope we start bringing more money in soon so I can drop the diner stuff.” She closed her eyes for a moment as Duff drove them to their apartment. Slash had his own car, and Duff had his. Stevie didn’t have one yet, because one of them could always drive her wherever she wanted to go, since she handled most of the bills for the apartment. He pulled up outside of their building. Slash’s car wasn’t out in front, so Duff knew he was at the bars and would be until early in the morning.

They headed inside and Stevie went straight for her room. Duff sighed and headed towards his. He had wanted to see if she wanted to catch a movie on TV or something, but he knew she was tired. And the last thing she would want to do is watch a movie with him.

But about a minute after he walked into his room, he heard a knock at his door. Opening it, he saw Stevie standing there, wearing the Kiss t-shirt.

“It’s perfect,” She told him. “Thank you.”

“Oh, that thing? Yeah I just saw it and thought of you,” He shrugged. He didn’t tell her he had spent over an hour trying to pick out the perfect one for her or anything like that. She stood on her tip toes and kissed his cheek with a smile.

“Well, I love it,” She turned around and headed back to her room, closing the door behind her.

“And I love you…” Duff whispered to himself before he headed into his own room for the night.


	6. Chapter 6

Months Later

“Hello?” Slash answered one morning. The phone would not stop ringing and Slash had finally had enough. And since neither of his roommates seemed to be bothered by it, Slash took it upon himself to answer the phone.

“About time!” Axl snapped without even so much as a hello.

“Well, good morning to you too Axl,” Slash rubbed his eyes.

“Go wake up Stevie and Duff!” Axl demanded. “Now!”

“Why? It’s early,” Slash groaned. He didn’t like Axl yelling at him when he was fully awake, not that Slash was ever truly awake. He was just in varying states of sleep.

“It’s important and it’s like almost eleven,” Axl told him. “Tell them to get up and get their asses over here ASAP.”

“Fine, fine,” Slash grumbled. He hung up the phone. “Fucking bossy ginger.” He went down the short hallway and banged on Stevie’s door before Duff’s. Duff came out in just his boxers, Stevie in a long t-shirt.

“What?” She asked, rubbing her eyes.

“Axl just called. Said we need to get our asses over to his and Izzy’s place,” Slash told them. “Sounded urgent.”

“Everything’s always urgent to that mother fucker,” Duff sighed.

“Let me go put some clothes on,” Stevie headed back into her room. Slash nodded and went back to his own, hoping to find some clothes that didn’t smell like something had died in them. Duff took a moment, trying to figure out what was so urgent that Axl needed to see them right away, before he went back into his room. The three met up in their living room after everyone had changed, looking a little more awake than they had just a few minutes prior. Duff snagged his keys and they headed over to Axl and Izzy’s place.

“About time!” Axl called out when they made their way in. Izzy was off to the side, a cup of weak looking coffee in front of him and a cigarette in his mouth.

“Dude, too early,” Duff dropped himself in a seat. Stevie sat by Duff on the dirty chair, Slash wedging himself onto the couch with Izzy and Axl.

“Okay, not that I’m upset to be here Red, by why are we here?” Stevie asked. Axl held up a business card.

“Last night, I was hanging out at the Rainbow,” Axl explained. “A man came up to me. His name was David Geffen, and he said he’d seen us play and wants to sign us to his label. Geffen Records.”

“Why does that sound familiar?” Duff asked, looking over at Slash. Stevie’s eyes went wide and she started bouncing in her seat. “Stevie?”

“They signed Aerosmith! And they released John Lennon’s last two albums!” She told them. “Oh my god!”

“Well, I see where Stevie stands on this,” Izzy laughed. “What about you guys?”

“I’m cool with it,” Slash told them. “It’s what we’ve been working for, right?”

Duff’s eyes lit up when he heard what Axl had said. It was all he wanted. A successful band. Ever since he picked up his first instrument, it was all he wanted to do. But then he looked over at Stevie, who was talking with Axl, Izzy, and Slash, and his mood fell. With this meant more money. And with that, it meant she’d eventually be leaving their tiny apartment for her own place. Slash would be too. There wouldn’t be a point of the three of them staying in a shoebox when they were millionaires.

“Duff?” Izzy’s voice brought him out of his daze. 

“Okay, I’m in,” Duff nodded. Stevie clapped and hugged everybody.

“We’ve got a record deal!” She laughed. “Yes!”

****

Geffen had them record an EP to put out to keep their name out there while they worked on their actual album. For at least four hours every day, they would go to the studio to work on their music before going to perform a show that night. It went on for a couple weeks before the studio decided to make some changes. While the other four were in the studio, working on a song, Stevie was taken to wardrobe.

“What’s going on?” Stevie asked, looking around at the racks of clothes.

“We want to make you stand out from the rest of the boys, not be one of them.” The PR woman said. “So, we have picked out an outfit that is sure to draw attention.”

“Uh, I’m the drummer,” Stevie told her. “No one is going to see what I’m wearing back behind my drums. And, you know, I am one of the only female drummers doing the circuit. I think that helps me stand out enough.”

“You’ll love it,” The woman smiled and nodded. Soon, the outfit was presented to Stevie.

A black lingerie top, a black vest, and a black mini skirt that was so tight looking, it looked like it had been cut off of a roll and left like that.

“No,” Stevie shook her head. “I’m not wearing this.”

“You have to dear,” The woman told her. “Go try it on.” Stevie glared but took the items and switched into them. She looked at herself in the mirror and hated it. She always played in a pair of leather pants and a t-shirt. She was one of the guys, not a Vixen reject.

“I hate this,” Stevie growled. “I’m not wearing...what are those?” She looked at the shoes the woman had for her. Six inch stiletto heels. “No. I am drawing a line.”

“But…”

“I have a kick drum. I’m going to damage something using those. Do you really want to replace pieces of the drum when I keep stabbing them with fucking heels? Or taking me to the hospital when I break a damn ankle?” Stevie crossed her arms over her chest.

“Okay, fine,” The woman sighed. “We have some very nice dress tennis shoes that…”

“You want me to wear this monkey suit, I am wearing my Chuck’s.” She told her. “No Chucks? No slutty drummer.” Stevie moved around as much as she could. “I can barely walk in this fucking thing.”

“You’ll live,” The woman sighed. “You’re show’s coming up. Walk around for a bit. It’ll grow on you.”

****

“What are you writing?” Izzy asked, looking over Axl’s shoulder. He had been scribbling away at a song for the past hour or so now, wanting to include it on the album.

“Something to go with that jam shit you guys did last week,” Axl told them. 

“The circus music?” Slash asked. “You’re really writing words to go with that? I did it to make Stevie laugh. It wasn’t anything serious.”

“It’s good!” Axl told him. “And this song will be fucking amazing!” Duff sat down next to him, reading over the words on the page.

“She’s got eyes of the bluest skies?” He asked. “Her hair reminds me of a warm safe place…” He looked up at the redhead. “Is this about someone I know?”

“Nope. You don’t know her,” Axl had a knowing smirk on his face. “Can’t wait to record this. It’s going to be awesome.” Duff was about to say something when the door opened and Stevie walked in wearing the stage outfit they had picked out for her. The room got silent as the four looked at her.

“What are you wearing?” Izzy asked, looking at her.

“Go change. You are not going anywhere dressed like that,” Slash added.

“It’s not my choice,” Stevie pulled on her skirt. “The record company says I have to wear this shit.” She looked up at Duff, who was just staring with his mouth hanging open. She looked away. “At least they’re not making me dress like the fucking Playboy club or something.”

“It’s not half bad,” Axl stood up and walked over to her. But Izzy snagged him and pulled him back to the couch he had been sitting on.

“I hate it,” Stevie groaned. “How the hell am I supposed to play drums in this?!”

“We’ll talk to them or something,” Izzy assured her. 

“We have to get to the venue,” She sighed. “Let’s just get this over with.” She didn’t want to look at Duff, because she didn’t want to see his judgement.

She didn’t know though that he was imagining what it would look like on his bedroom floor.

Their road crew (which they were still shocked to have and not use to) loaded up all their gear and they headed out to their gig. It wasn’t a huge venue, but it was bigger than the clubs they were used to playing on the strip. They got in the car that drove them out to it, Stevie staring out the window. Duff sat by her, keeping Axl away from her.

They got out at their entrance to do sound check and warm ups. Axl was leading them in with Stevie following behind. The security guard let the boys in, but stopped Stevie.

“Sorry, strict rules, no groupies.” He told her. Stevie stared at him.

“Well, good for you but I’m in the band,” She tried to go around him, but he stopped her.

“I’ve heard that one before,” He told her. “Motley Crue is the next town over. Why don’t you try your luck there?”

“I’m Stevie Adler. I’m the drummer,” She told him. “So let me in.”

“Get lost lady,” The guard laughed.

“Duff!” Stevie called out. “Slash!” The two musicians turned to see the guard pushing Stevie back and shutting the door.

“What are you doing?” Duff demanded, walking up to the guard.

“I have orders. No groupies,” He told the bassist. Slash watched the taller man. He could tell he was getting pissed off. Duff was just radiating pissed off. Anyone who didn’t even know Duff knew that he was extremely angry right now.

“Dude, that’s our drummer,” Izzy butted in then, hoping to keep Duff from decking the security guard. “Let her in.”

“Wait, that girl is really your drummer?” He asked.

“Yes!” Axl, Izzy, and Slash said at once. Duff opened the door and found Stevie sitting on the walkway railing, her arms wrapped around her.

“Stevie!” Duff walked out to her. She looked up at him. This wasn’t the first time in her life that she had been treated like shit for being a woman. But normally, Duff wasn’t right there to see her about to cry because of it. She wiped at her eyes as Duff stood in front of her. “Hey, are you okay?” He gently grabbed her arms.

“Y-yeah,” She smiled a little at him. Duff hated to see her cry, and many times, he had shoved his fist into the face of anyone who chased that smile away. And he wanted to go hit that guard. “Do I get to come in now?”

“Yeah sweetheart,” He helped her down off the railing and walked inside with her. The guard was going to apologize, but Duff shot a look at the man, telling him to shut his mouth.

“You okay?” Slash asked, walking with her and Duff to meet up with Axl and Izzy. Stevie just smiled at him.

“Of course,” She laughed. “Am I ever not okay?” The three met up with Axl and Izzy and headed out to do sound check. “Come on guys, let’s wreck some shit!”

****

The crowd started pouring in. People wanted to see Guns n’ Roses, something that the five piece never thought would happen. They were playing a couple songs off their unreleased album, and things were going good.

Except for the drumline. It was off with the kicks, and Stevie was both embarrassed and pissed at the same time.

“What are you doing?” Duff asked, heading back to Stevie as Axl talked to the crowd.

“I can’t fucking playing in this skirt!” Stevie told him. “At this rate, I’m gonna play in my damn underwear in order to get this right!”

“Hold on,” Duff walked behind the kit and grabbed the skirt, ripping a slit in it to allow Stevie to move around.

“My hero,” She smiled at him. Axl looked back at them and Duff gave him a thumbs up.

"Looks like our technical difficulties are over! Let's go mother fuckers!" Axl called out. They launched into their next song. Slash, Izzy, and Duff all had smiles on their faces. The drums sounded much better. Stevie’s smile was back and they sounded like the band that everyone came out to see.

“Mr. Izzy Stradlin on rhythm guitar,” Axl called out. Izzy waved to the crowd. “Mr. Slash on our lead guitar!” Slash flipped off the crowd, which got a loud cheer. “Mr. Duff McKagan on the bass!” Duff took a bow. “And on the drums, Ms. Stevie Adler!” Stevie jumped up and waved her arms in the air. Duff and Axl watched her, smiles on their faces. “And I’m Axl Rose, and we are Guns n’ Roses!”

****

“That was so awesome!” Stevie laughed. “Damn skirt and all.”

“The slit seems like it’s work,” Slash told her. “I still want to talk to them about that. You’re pretty much naked.” Spoken like a true brother, biological or not.

“Hey, sometimes naked is better,” Axl commented, winking at Stevie.

There were people gathered around backstage as the band came on the scene. Girls throwing themselves on the boys, and a couple that were eyeing Stevie. But Duff didn’t really care about the girls. Because a guy only taller than Stevie by a couple inches was walking up to the drummer.

“Hey,” He greeted her with a charming smile and a look in his eyes that told Stevie he was after one thing. “You know, you’re a really pretty drummer.”

“Oh, I bet you say that to all of the drummers you meet,” Stevie flirted back, fully aware that Duff was staring.

“Only the pretty ones,” He leaned in close and Duff had enough. He walked over to Stevie and pulled her into his side. He felt her lean into him and he couldn’t stop the smile that spread on his face.

“Sorry, she’s busy,” Duff told him, towering over the other man. “Take a hike.”

“Listen here you son of a bitch, I…” Duff stood up straight to his full height, something that he didn’t do often, but he wanted to show his true height because he knew it could be intimidating. “On second thought, I gotta go…” With that, the man ran off. Stevie sighed a little bit, but stayed pressed against Duff’s side. Slash and Izzy watched them.

“When are they just gonna fucking admit they like each other?” Izzy asked. He had stopped trying to be Axl’s wingman to get Stevie when he watched Duff and Stevie together for five minutes. They were so in love, but so stupid that they couldn’t see that they liked each other.

“I’ve been asking myself that for the past five years,” Slash sighed. “Come on, I need a drink.”

****

The next day, the five band members marched into the office of the woman who decided that Stevie had to dress the way she did. She was on the phone when she looked up at the five angry band members and knew that she needed to hang up before they got even angrier.

“I’ll call you back,” She told whoever was on the other end before hanging up. “Uh, hi.”

“We’re petitioning for a change in Stevie’s stage wardrobe,” Axl explained, taking the lead while the others nodded. Stevie laid the skirt on the desk, showing the large rip in it.

“What happened?” The woman asked.

“Had to fucking rip it so she could play,” Duff told her. “She needs pants and a shirt.”

“But we want to market her sex appeal…”

“Did you…” Izzy looked at Duff, Slash, and Axl, who all had angry eyes. “I wouldn’t have said that if I were you…”

“She does not have to market sex appeal!” Slash growled at the woman.

“She is a musician! She has to market her skills!” Axl added.

“You can’t sit there and tell us that she needs to show her sex appeal!” Duff threw out. Stevie stood in the back, watching her boys defend her. They were all talking a mile a minute and finally, the woman threw her hands up in the air.

“Fine!” She yelled out. “She can wear whatever the hell she wants if it gets you to shut up!”

“Thank you,” Stevie said with a big smile on her face. “Come on boys. We’ve got an album to work on.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another chapter because I'm trash

**A Couple Months Later**

The album was perfect. Everyone worked hard on it, and Axl worked the sound engineers to make sure every note was perfect. Everyone had learned that Axl was a bit of a micromanager with this album. He was pissed that part of Slash’s epic solo for “Sweet Child O’ Mine” was dropped for radio edits, but the smile on Stevie’s face when she heard the completed thing was engraved in his mind. She had lit up the whole room, and Slash and Izzy had to watch as Duff and Axl both watched her. Axl wanted to tell her the song was about her, not whatever girl he was currently with, and Duff never wanted her to know.

They listened to all the music on the album, Axl not being able to hide the smile on his face when “Rocket Queen” came on. Everything was going great. And then it came to the guitar solo.

“Oh my god, who is that?” Stevie asked with a laugh. She was sitting against Slash, wearing his top hat.

“Oh, just a girl,” Axl shrugged. “Fucked her in the recording studio to get it.”

“Can’t be you fucking her,” Izzy said, lighting his cigarette. “She’s not begging for help.”

“Nice!” Duff high fived the guitarist. Stevie shook her head and laughed.

“Dude, I thought you were supposed to be my friend,” Axl rolled his eyes. “Anyway, I think that it’ll give us a lot of...exposure.”

“It’s gonna give us a lot of being banned from MTV, that’s what it’s gonna do,” Stevie told him. “But I like it.”

“Wait, you do?” Axl asked, staring at her. The other three looked at her as well, wondering if she was going crazy or something.

“Well yeah,” She told him. “Guess you’re just not used to girls enjoying themselves during sex.” She smirked at Axl, who glared at the drummer.

“Oooo!” Izzy, Slash, and Duff all high fived her.

“I hate you guys,” Axl crossed his arms over his chest.

****

“Oh my god!” Stevie screamed from her bedroom. Slash and Duff looked at each other. The album had been selling and Stevie had just quit her job at the diner. On her way home, she grabbed a couple magazines just to see what people were saying about them. She took them to her room to read through them, ready to laugh at all the dumb things that they could come up with.

And apparently, she had found something she did not like.

“Stevie? You okay?” Duff called back to her. She came storming out of her room and dropped the magazine on the crowded coffee table.

“Read it!” she demanded. Slash picked up the magazine and Duff moved to sit by him so they could read whatever it was she was upset about together.

“Guns n’ Roses, a Hollywood based band, has made waves with their new album Appetite for Destruction,” Slash read. “Fronted by Indiana native Axl Rose and being joined by fellow Indiana child Izzy Stradlin, Duff McKagan from Washington, Guitarist Slash from England, and Stevie Adler from Ohio, the band is sure to draw in the crowds.”

“What’s wrong?” Duff asked, looking up at Stevie, confused. The only thing that he could think of was that she didn’t like people pointing out she was an Ohio native.

“Keep reading,” She hissed.

“While each song in Appetite for Destruction keeps the listener wanting more, some are shrouded with mystery,” Slash continued on. “Such being the final song on the album called “Rocket Queen”. It has not been confirmed who the girl in the instrumental parts is, but we have it under good record that it is in fact drummer Stevie...Adler...oh shit…”

“I know it’s not me!” She told them. “Everyone in the band knows it’s not me. Duff and I went to see Spaceballs when Axl fucked that poor girl!”

“We’ll just keep telling them that,” Duff told her. “It’s gonna be okay.”

****

Duff, Izzy, Slash, and Stevie did keep telling the press that Stevie was not the Rocket Queen. But Axl wasn’t helping. When people would ask who it really was, he would just give them a smile and a shrug. He never confirmed nor denied who the Rocket Queen was, so the media ran with it, since Axl was the frontman.

“Dude, just fucking tell them is wasn’t Stevie,” Duff told him one day while they were in New York, preparing to film one of their music videos using concert footage and differet things that the film crew recorded while following them around the city.

“People like a mystery,” Axl told him. “Keeps people listening, hoping they can figure it out.”

“But you know it’s not her,” Duff stared the shorter man down. “Start telling people it’s not Stevie. I don’t give a rats ass who you tell people it is or isn’t, but just make it perfectly clear that it was not Stevie.”

“Duff, you coming?” Stevie called over to him from where she was hanging out with Slash. The three of them were going to explore the city together. Stevie had never been to New York before and she was so excited to see the sights. 

“Yeah!” Duff smiled at her before looking back at Axl. He just glared at him for a second before putting his sunglasses on and walking over to his friends. He let an arm slide around her shoulders before the three set off.

They had fans smiling and asking for autographs wherever they went. Duff would flash smiles at the girls who would ask them to sign something, but the guys that got a little too close to Stevie made his blood boil. Fuck, they weren’t even dating and he was like this. He tried to cool himself down, but the thought of someone else taking Stevie to bed, well, Duff didn’t like that idea one bit.

“We’re doing the ferry tour, right?” Stevie asked when they walked away from the last group of fans that wanted autographs, girls that told Stevie they wanted to be drummers or musicians now and how they were so excited to get a hug from their idol. There weren’t a lot of women on the scene, but the ones that were there made a big impact. And hanging out with Stevie as they got bigger was showing Duff that.

“Of course,” Slash smiled. “How else are we going to see the Statue of Liberty?”

“We get to see the Statue of Liberty?” Stevie asked excitedly. “You guys are the best!”

“You gotta get out more,” Slash laughed. He grabbed her hand. “Last one to the ticket booth has to bunk with Axl tonight!” Him and Stevie took off down the sidewalk.

“Hey!” Duff ran after them. He was determined to make Slash last, because he wasn’t bunking with Axl and he sure as hell wasn’t letting Stevie do it. The camera crew had drove ahead, so they weren’t chasing the trio. Duff used his long legs to his advantage, and all three of them arrived at the same time.

“I think Stevie was last,” Slash teased. “Shorty here was racing a fucking giant.”

“Hey! It’s not my fault I’m average height for a girl and Duff is so fucking long!” Stevie pointed out.

“Bet that’s the first time you’ve ever heard that one,” Slash looked at Duff and laughed.

“God, you’ve been hanging out with Izzy way too much,” Duff shook his head. They headed through the ticket center onto the ferry with the camera guy following them. Stevie was so excited as she looked out over the city. Duff had no idea that the cameras were on them as he watched her with a smile on his face.

But soon, they would have to get back for sound check and warm ups. They were opening up for Motley Crue, who were back from their Europe tour. They just so happened to be in the right place at the right time for the event. So once the ferry ride was over, the three headed back to the venue. Stevie took a seat behind her drums, working on tuning and making sure that everything was in the right spot. Duff, Izzy, and Slash were going over some things, and Axl was talking with some of the roadies.

“Hey,” Someone said, making Stevie jump. She turned to see Vince standing there. His blond hair was a mess, but he looked good for already doing a fair share of touring.

“Oh, hey Vince,” She smiled at him. “We didn’t think you guys would be here until we started our set.”

“Tommy, Nikki, and Mick are back there doing god knows what,” Vince laughed. “I wanted to come talk to you.”

“To me?” She asked. “Why?” He leaned against one of the amps that was right by her set up.

“So, are the rumors true?” He asked. “Are you the Rocket Queen?”

“Oh my god,” Stevie laughed. “No, I’m not. I don’t know what poor girl Axl conned into doing that, but it sure as hell wasn’t me.”

“Oh,” Vince laughed a little bit. “Well, since I broke the ice, we’re all still in town tomorrow. And I was just wondering if you’d wanna go out tomorrow night.”

“You’re asking me out on a date?” Stevie asked. Vince nodded and gave her that killer smile of his. “Sure.”

“Awesome,” Vince laughed. “I’ll meet you at that Italian place a block away from the hotel they put you guys at. How’s 8 sound?”

“That sounds good,” Stevie smiled at the frontman. He took her hand and kissed it before walking away, leaving Stevie sitting there with the biggest smile on her face.

****

“Who’s that over there with Stevie?” Axl asked, walking up to Izzy, Slash, and Duff. Izzy looked over, trying to see who it was.

“Looks like Vince Neil,” Izzy told them. Duff’s head popped up to look over at the scene. He watched Vince talking to Stevie and she had a big smile on her face. Then he kissed her hand and walked away.

“What do you think happened?” Slash asked. Duff didn’t answer, instead walking over to Stevie.

“Stevie,” Duff said as he walked up to her. “What did Neil want?”

“Oh, uh, well you see…” She was blushing now. Duff suddenly was scared to hear what Vince had wanted. “He asked me out on a date.”

“HE WHAT?!” Axl screeched. Stevie jumped and looked at the redhead. Izzy placed a hand on his shoulder to calm him down.

“Yeah,” Stevie nodded. “We’re going to get Italian tomorrow night. Isn’t that great?” She looked at Duff and her smile started to fall when she saw the look on his face. “Duff?”

“Oh, yeah. Happy for you. I gotta...there’s something backstage I gotta do,” With that, Duff left, leaving Stevie sitting there, confused.

****

The concert was fucking amazing. They brought energy that made the kids all go crazy. They took their bow and headed backstage where they were met by Tommy, Nikki, Mick, and Vince. Motley Crue had a few minutes before they had to get on, to give the stagehands a chance to switch out the gear.

“Way to go dude!” Tommy gave Stevie a big hug. “You’re so fucking awesome!”

“T-Bone, stop. You’re making me blush,” Stevie laughed. Nikki went to talk to Duff and Slash while Izzy and Mick talked. Axl watched as Vince headed over to Stevie.

“Can’t wait until tomorrow night,” He told her. Both bands got silent as he pulled her in for a kiss. Tommy’s mouth hung open, Mick and Izzy looked at each other in shock. Nikki could feel Duff getting angry. Vince broke apart from Stevie and smiled. “Until then.” With that, Tommy grabbed his arm and pulled him to the stage.

“What the fuck was that?” He asked the singer.

“What?” Vince asked. “Just kissing my date.”

****

Stevie smiled at her boys as they grabbed their personal things and headed to the bus to go back to the hotel. They had a few days to relax in New York before they had to head out.

“What do you guys wanna go do tonight?” Stevie asked the boys.

“I’m going out,” Duff grumbled.

“Great, I’ll go with…” Stevie looked at Duff’s face and stopped talking. “I mean...never mind…” Slash looked over at Duff, who was gritting his teeth and looking out the window. Tommy, Nikki, and hell, even Mick had picked up on the fact that Duff was in love with Stevie. Even Axl to an extent, because he hadn’t tried to bed her in awhile. But Vince fucking Neil didn’t get the memo apparently.

Slash watched as Stevie quietly got on the bus then looked over at Duff. He wanted to yell at the bassist for acting the way he was, but honestly, he would probably be the same way if the roles were reversed.

Stevie quietly headed to her room, walking past Duff and Slash as they loitered outside their joint rooms. Everyone had their own room, but they always joked about turning one into a party room and hanging out with Axl. But that wasn’t going to happen tonight.

It was the first night in a long time Duff and Stevie hadn’t done something together after a concert.


	8. Chapter 8

Duff didn’t want to get out of bed the next day. He knew what was going to happen that night. Stevie was going to go out with Vince. And knowing the frontman’s reputation, she would go back to his hotel room for the night. It wouldn’t be because she wanted to hang out with Tommy and Nikki to annoy Mick, it would be to end up in Vince’s bed, as just another girl on his list.

And it honestly made Duff sick to his stomach.

“Duff, come on,” Izzy knocked on his door. “You can’t stay in there all day. That’s not the point of this mini vacation.” He was so tired of his idiot bandmates at this point, and he seriously was thinking about locking them both in a hotel room.

“I don’t wanna get up,” Duff grumbled. “What’s the point anyway?” Duff said under his breath, not really sure if Izzy could hear that or not.

“Well, Stevie and Slash are going shopping right now. She’s trying on clothes and…” The door flew open, and Duff stood there. “Uh, hey?”

“Where is she?” Duff asked.

“When did I become the fucking babysitter?” Izzy asked him. “I…” He was going to give another smart ass remark watched as Duff quickly pulled on some clothes, but decided to take some pity on the lovestruck bassist. “Well, if I would’ve known that would get you going. Her and Slash just headed to the elevator.”

“Fuck!” Duff grabbed his wallet and ran to the elevator. It was taking way too long and Duff needed get downstairs now. It finally got to his floor and he got down to the lobby. He looked around but didn’t see them, until he looked towards the large glass entrance. There, he could see the mass amount of fluffy hair that was Slash’s heading out the door behind Stevie. She had her hair pulled back today. A woman on a mission.

“Stevie! Slash!” Duff called out as he chased them down. He had plenty of people staring at him before he caught up to them. The two of them turned to look at the bassist running at them. Slash had an amused grin on his face. He knew that Duff couldn’t stay away.

“Duff?” Stevie asked. “What are you doing here?” She was still a little hurt by how he acted the night before, and she honestly didn’t think he’d want to go with them to the store.

“I’m sorry about last night,” He told her. “I was just tired.” Stevie looked over at Slash, who just shrugged.

“Well, okay,” She smiled at him. “I’m going to pick something out for tonight.”

“Oh, yeah,” Duff plastered a smile on his face, trying to hide the pain in his voice. He wrapped and arm around her shoulders as they walked. “Come on sweetheart. Let’s go knock Vince off his feet.”

****

Vince was awoken by a loud pounding at his door. He groaned and rolled out of bed, knocking over an empty bottle of Jack as he went. He opened the door, and through his sleepy eyes, he saw Tommy and Nikki standing there.

“What the fuck do you guys want?” Vince asked. Nikki pushed him into the room as the terror twins made their way in. Vince stared at them, trying to figure out what was going on.

“Shut the door Tommy,” Nikki told the drummer. Tommy nodded and shut the door. He turned back around and looked at Vince with his arms crossed over his chest.

“You guys aren’t here to invite me to breakfast, are you?” Vince laughed a little, but they could tell he was nervous.

“What are you doing with Stevie Adler?” Tommy asked, cutting right to the chase.

“What?” Vince asked.

“Answer the question,” Nikki matching Tommy’s stance and crossing his arms over his chest. They were both towering over the frontman, standing to their full height. Vince just looked between them.

“I’m just taking her out on a date…” Vince told them. “Nothing big.”

“Yes, very big,” Tommy told him.

“How do you not realize that Duff likes her?” Nikki asked.

“So?” Vince shrugged. “If he likes her so much, why doesn’t he just ask her out?”

“She’s his best friend you idiot!” Tommy snapped at Vince. “Even I know what’s going on Vince.”

“You have to cancel this date,” Nikki told him.

“What? No.” Vince shook his head. “I’m not putting my plans on hold because Duff has a hard on for his drummer!”

“If you don’t cancel this date, it will be the last one you ever have,” Nikki growled.

“What are you going to do, kill me?” Vince asked.

“Nope,” Tommy shook his head. “But you’ll have blue balls so bad you’ll wish you were dead.” Vince gulped and nodded. “Glad we have an understanding.” With that, Tommy and Nikki walked out, leaving Vince in his room alone.

****

“God this is so boring!” Slash called through the dressing room door at Stevie.

“I’m sorry! I could’ve done this on my own!” Stevie shot back.

“Yeah and if I would’ve said no, Axl would’ve came with you, and tried to get into the dressing room!” Slash shook his head. She had already been through about five dresses, and each one, no one could agree on, even though Slash was pretty sure Duff was saying no to all of them hoping that she would just give up and not go on the date. 

But this was the last dress she had in her pile and Stevie was hoping that it would be a winner.

“Okay,” She breathed as she opened the dressing room door. “What do you guys think of this one?”

Duff looked up and stared at her. He wasn’t sure how to even make words at that point. She was wearing a black, sleeveless dress that had silver stars sewn into the netting. Across her back, straps criss crossed. The front was low cut just enough to show off some cleavage without exposing too much. She looked down right stunning.

Too bad it was all for someone else.

“I think that’s a winner,” Slash laughed, poking Duff. Duff stood from his spot, still staring at her.

“You look beautiful,” Duff told her, walking up to her. “Vince is going to love it.” Stevie looked up at the taller man, biting her lip.

“You’re not just saying that, right?” Stevie asked. Duff brushed a stray piece of hair out of her face.

“Never,” He told her with a soft smile. He stared down into her eyes and Slash was two seconds away from knocking them into each other or locking them in a closet until they just fucking admitted how they felt about each other.

“Okay,” She laughed a little. “I’m gonna go buy it.” She went back into the dressing room to change into her other clothes. When she was done, she headed to the register. Duff started to follow her, but was stopped by Slash.

“What are you doing?” Slash asked.

“Following her to the register,” Duff told him.

“No. Just fucking ask her out already man. Don’t let her go on this date tonight!” 

“I’m not going to do that to her,” Duff told him. “If she wants to go out with Vince, then...then she can. She’s a grown woman, she can make her own decisions.”

“Oh my god, you are both idiots!” Slash yelled a little loud. Stevie looked over at them as she finished up paying for her dress. She came over to them with the dress placed neatly in a bag.

“What is going on over here?” She asked.

“Nothing,” Duff waved it off. “Come on. You’ve got a date to get ready for.”

****

Stevie showered, shaved, and made herself look presentable. She left her hair loose, cascading over her shoulders. She did her make up and painted her nails. Duff, Izzy, Axl, and Slash were hanging out in the lounge on the floor, not wanting to disturb her as she got ready. Stevie took a deep breath and walked up to them.

“Okay boys,” She told them, standing in front of them. “Do I look okay?” They all turned their attention away from the football game that was on to look at Stevie.

“Damn girl,” Izzy smiled. “You look great!”

“I approve,” Slash nodded, glancing over at Duff who was at a loss again. Seeing her in the dress at the store was one thing. Seeing her completely made up was something entirely different.

“I like it,” Axl admitted. Stevie looked over at Duff, who just kept staring at her.

‘I, uh, I’m gonna head out,” She told him. “I’ll see you later.” He just nodded slowly. “Bye guys.” She walked out then, leaving Duff sitting there with the words on his lips that he had wanted to say.

So he turned his attention back to the football game. But when that couldn’t keep his interest, Duff retreated to the hotel bar.

****

Nikki and Tommy walked into the hotel that Guns n’ Roses were staying at. They were going to hang out with them, hoping to cheer Stevie up for her cancelled date. Vince had agreed to cancel, so they knew that she was probably going to be down in the dumps, and they knew reigning terror onto unsuspecting hotel guests would be just the right cheer up. Nikki saw Duff sitting at the hotel bar. He nudged Tommy and they headed over there, both of them wondering why he wasn’t hanging out with Steie.

“Hey, where’s Stevie?” Tommy asked. Duff sighed and motioned for another drink.

“She’s on her fucking date with Vince,” He took a puff off his cigarette. He didn’t see the look that the terror twins shared with each other.

“Wait, what?” Nikki asked.

“Yeah. You heard him last night,” Duff sighed. “I hope he appreciates her.” He chugged his drink like it was water.

“Dude, Vince cancelled,” Tommy told him. “Did he not call her?”

“Wait...he cancelled?” Duff asked, looking at the other two. A million thoughts were starting to run through his head, one being that he was going to kick Vince’s ass.

“Yeah,” Nikki confirmed. “That’s why we’re here. To hang out with her and cheer her up if she was upset…”

“Fuck!” Duff groaned. If he had known, he would’ve been prepared or something. But Stevie apparently didn’t know, because she was wasting her evening on someone who wasn’t even going to show up.

“Go over there,” Nikki told him. “Go show up and take his spot. Tell her how you fucking feel about her already. Steal flowers from a table or some shit and be her fucking knight in shining armor!”

“Seriously. The suspense of when you two are going to get together is worse than waiting to see who fucking shot J.R.!” Tommy added.

“Shit! I gotta get over there,” Duff stood up, ready to head to the restaurant and save the day.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to thank Justcallmebaby for help with this :D

Stevie felt like crying. It had been over an hour and he had not shown up. The wait staff was taking pity on her and bringing her wine and pieces of cake and other desserts to try to help her cheer up, but it had been almost an hour and she was done waiting. She laid money on the table for them to split as a tip and to pay for what they had given her before she took her purse and walked back to her hotel. It wasn’t too far, so a cab wouldn’t be necessary, and maybe being in public would help her keep her tears at bay.

That was until she came to the hotel.

As soon as it came into view, the tears started falling. She walked through the doors and headed to the elevator, hoping that she didn’t see anyone she knew. But that didn’t work, because Duff, Tommy, and Nikki were heading out of the bar, and Axl, Slash, and Izzy heading towards the pool to watch girls. They all stopped when they saw Stevie come in.

“Stevie?” Duff asked. She looked up at him and he saw the tears. They all did.

“I’m fine,” She gave him a sad smile before heading to the elevator and closing the doors before he could make a step towards it.

“What the fuck happened?” Axl asked. “What did Vince do?”

“He stood her up,” Tommy told him.

“I gotta go,” Duff told them before running to the elevator, leaving everyone else standing there, fuming at Vince.

****

Stevie shut the door to her room quietly. She kicked off her shoes to the corner of the room and sat down on the edge of her bed, staring down at the carpet. The tears hit hard then as she held her head and cried into her hands. After a few moments of that, she stood up and went to the bathroom to wipe her makeup off as she cried. Why did he stand her up? He had seemed so excited about it the night before at the concert. Maybe that was his plan all along? But he had seemed so sweet. She got her face cleaned off but could not stop crying. She was about to change out of her dress and bury herself in the blankets on her bed when there was a knock on her door.

“Stevie?” She heard Duff’s voice on the other side. As much as she would love nothing more than for him to comfort her and tell her everything was going to be okay, she didn’t want him to see her like this.

“I-I’m fine,” She told him. She was hoping he’d just go away, but she knew that he wouldn’t, especially if he saw her crying.

“Sweetheart, open the door please,” Duff’s voice was soft. “I know you’re not fine.” Stevie opened the door and the minute her eyes fell on Duff, she started to sob. “Hey, hey, it’s okay.” He closed the door and pulled her to him. She buried her face in his chest and kept crying. “It’s okay sweetheart.”

“Is there something wrong with me?” She asked softly. Duff looked down at her, slightly taken aback by her question.

“No. There’s nothing wrong with you,” He told her, pulling back some to look at her and using his thumb to brush away some of the tears from her face. “Why would you ask that?”

“B-because every time I like someone, they either don’t like me back or they do this and I…” She sniffled.

“Stevie, you are beautiful. And you’re funny. And you can make me smile just by being in the room with me. You’re a great drummer, and any guy would be so damn lucky to have you…”

“Except for the one I want,” she told him, moving to sit on her bed. Duff sighed and went to sit by her. This is where she told him who she had a crush on and he was already preparing himself for whoever it was that had won her attention.

“Vince?” He asked. She shook her head. “Tommy? Nikki? Axl?” He was trying to rake his brain to figure out who she liked.

“God no,” She sighed. “Duff, the guy I like...is you…”

“I mean whoever it is we can…” Duff stopped when he registered what she said. “Me?” Stevie nodded, not able to look at him. “But, what about your rule? No dating bandmates.”

“I made it so assholes like Axl would quit hitting on me,” Stevie told him. “I’ve liked you for a long time now. And I know that you don’t like me in that way but I…”

That’s when Duff did something she did not expect him to do. He tilted her head to him and pressed his lips against hers. Stevie gasped softly before closing her eyes and leaning into it. They broke apart slowly, the need for air winning out over the kissing. Stevie opened her eyes and looked into Duff’s.

“This isn’t because I got stood up, is it?” She asked.

“I’ve had feelings for you since that Christmas,” Duff held up his wrist, showing his favorite bracelet. “I just...you said you wouldn’t date anyone you were in a band with and I never thought you’d be into me.”

“Have you seen yourself?” She asked with a laugh. “Duff, you’ve been my best friend for years. And the minute I realized I liked you when you came to the 4th of July picnic at the observatory with me. And it was cemented when I realized you only came to eat at the diner when I was working and just so happened to be doing things around so I wasn’t going home alone.”

“If anything ever happened to you, I’d never forgive myself,” He cupped her face. He leaned in and kissed her again. As they continue to kiss, Duff pulled her to be in his lap. He placed his hands on her hips and pulled her closer to himself. This was something he had dreamed of a few times, her pressed up against him like this. But he never thought it would be a reality.

“Do you want this?” Duff asked, pulling back and looking into Stevie’s blue eyes.

“Yes,” She whispered.

Duff kissed her again, deeply. When Stevie moaned, he grabbed the hem of her dress and pulled it over her head, revealing her to him. Stevie was sitting in Duffs lap, wearing only black lacy underwear. 

“I think you might be a bit overdressed,” she giggled. Duff scrambled to pull his shredded tank over his head while Stevie untied the laces on his pants. 

“Come on, let's get you out of these,” Stevie said climbing off Duff’s lap and helping him pull his pants off. Duff grabbed her by the waist and pulled her towards him, leaning in for another kiss, and ripping the fine lace panties off. Duff looked up at her and smirked. 

“I’ve wanted to do that forever,” He told her before pulling her back into his lap. Duff sucked one of her nipples into his mouth, and began pinching and rubbing the other with his hand. Stevies head dropped back in a moan, and she ground down onto Duff’s hard cock, which caused Duff to moan.

“Fuck your gonna kill me babe,” He rolled his hips up to meet her and reached down with his other hand to start rubbing her clit with his thumb. Stevie ground down harder, smearing her wetness along his cock and thighs. 

“Not if you kill me first. Shit...” Stevie panted, coming from just his thumb on her clit and his mouth on her nipple. Duff watched her come apart above him, the way she tossed her head back, golden curls haloed around her head and her mouth dropped open, she looked angelic, and he had to see it again. Stevie tipped her head forward looking down at Duff. “You’re staring.” she teased. 

“I could watch you come all day,” Duff admitted. Stevie smirked, raising herself and rubbing his cock through her folds, before slowly starting to slide down his hard cock. Stevie was panting when she was half way down. Duff was a bit longer than average but way thicker than she had ever been with, and her last romp had been a while ago. Stevie could feel Duff holding back from the tremors in his thighs and the way his hands gripped her hips so hard it hurt, but she liked it. Stevie took pity on him and dropped the rest of the way, seating herself fully on him. The move almost knocked the air out of her lungs when he bottomed out in her. Duff groaned, feeling himself buried in her. Stevie began rolling her hips in tight circles, building the fire in her belly. Duff’s fingers were pressing hard into her hips, nails leaving crescent shape indentations, as she rolled a larger circle and felt him slide in just a bit further. Stevie clamped down around him as wave after wave of pleasure overtook her. Duff lifted her by the hips giving himself room to move as he started thrusting up working toward a rhythm that would let him come too. 

“Shit, Fuck, Duff, Oh god, gonna come again!” Stevie panted from above him, driving Duff to thrust harder, wanting to feel her come again. Stevie did not hold back and within a minute she was riding another wave of pleasure. Duff watched as Stevie came undone above him and felt his orgasm quickly approaching, wanting to wring another orgasm out of her he began to pull her down on him while he thrusted up and was rewarded with a cry of his name, before her pulsing around him pulled him over the edge with a shout of her name. Duff held Stevie against his chest while their breathing returned to normal. After a few minutes he felt her getting antsy, and let her up, she laid down next to him. 

”Are you going to stay?” Stevie asked, curling into Duff’s side. He wrapped an arm around her.

“This is all I’ve wanted for years now,” He told her. “I’m not going anywhere.”


	10. Chapter 10

Duff woke up first. He was a little confused as to where he was at first, until he looked down at his side and smiled. Stevie was asleep by him, her hair framing her face. He had seen her early in the morning, especially here recently with being on the bus. But he thought this was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. He laid there for a few minutes, just watching her.

But soon, she started to stir. She opened her eyes and looked at him. A smile spread on his face as she woke up.

“Good morning beautiful,” He whispered.

“You’re still here,” She had a soft smile on her face.

“I told you I wasn’t going anywhere,” He laughed a little and pulled her close to him. He started to kiss her again, almost like he was trying to make up for all the times they could’ve been doing this and hadn’t been. He moved on top of her, deepening the kiss.

And that’s when the door flew open. Because while all of Guns n’ Roses knew how to knock on Stevie’s door, her male counterpart from Motley Crue did not.

“Stevie!” Tommy called as him and Nikki walked in. “We can’t find Duff and we…” Him and Nikki froze as they saw Duff and Stevie staring at them. “Found Duff and Stevie.”

“About fucking time!” Nikki shut the door and walked up to Duff, giving him a high five.

“I should’ve put up the ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign,” Duff sighed.

“It doesn’t matter. Tommy just wants to see me naked,” Stevie rolled her eyes. “Boys, can you turn around so I can at least put a shirt on?”

“Oh, yeah. Sure.” Nikki and Tommy turned around, standing right in front of the mirror in the room. Stevie and Duff looked at each other.

“Are you looking in the mirror?” Stevie asked.

“Nope,” Tommy answered proudly. Duff got a smirk on his face as he climbed out of bed so his reflection was in the mirror.

“Oh god!” Nikki covered his eyes. “Let’s go look out the window.” He dragged Tommy to the window. Duff laughed and passed Stevie his t-shirt. She slipped it on and found her discarded underwear while Duff pulled on his pants. At least they were covered now.

“Okay boys, you can turn around,” Stevie told them. She was sitting on the bed, Duff next to her. “So…”

“How was it?” Tommy asked.

“Oh my god Tommy,” Stevie shook her head.

“Don’t worry, we let Vince have it because he stood you up,” Nikki told Stevie. “But apparently, Duff let you have it too.”

“We need new friends,” Stevie groaned.

“Hey, you guys are stuck with us for awhile,” Tommy told her. “Doc told us last night that our tour and your tour are on the same path. You’re our band for like the next fifteen shows at least.”

“Does anyone else know about you two yet?” Nikki asked, looking from Stevie to Duff.

“Probably not,” Duff shrugged. “They’ll figure it out eventually.”

“I don’t know about that one,” Tommy told them. “I thought you guys were together for like the first few months I knew you. No matter how many times princess over here told me that you two were just best friends and roommates.” Duff was holding Stevie’s hand as Tommy spoke. He ran his thumb on the back of her hand.

“Don’t tell anybody,” Nikki told them then. “Let’s see how long it takes both our bands to just figure it out.”

“Well, Mick will have it in a heartbeat,” Stevie told them.

“And Vince isn’t a dumb slut, he’s just a slut,” Duff laughed a little.

“Come out to the bar with us tonight and we’ll see if he can catch on,” Nikki laughed.

“And no giving him a heads up,” Duff told the other bassist. “Let’s see if he can figure this out on his own.” Nikki smiled and nodded. He liked where this was going.

****

Duff and Stevie left Axl, Izzy, and Slash up to their own devices. They were going to meet the Motley Crue boys over at CBGB. Duff walked with Stevie to the venue, an arm thrown around her shoulders, pulling her close to him. She had snagged his tank top from his bag and wore it proudly. Duff couldn’t help but smile at how she looked with it on.

“Duff! Stevie!” Tommy called out to them from right outside the club. “We’ve been waiting for you.”

“Sorry, enjoying the sights,” Duff laughed, placing a kiss on Stevie’s head. Her smile got bigger when he kissed her.

“By that, you mean a little…” Tommy starting motioning with his hands, and Stevie knew what he meant right away. Stevie slapped his arm.

“Oh my god, you are such a fucking perv Lee,” She laughed. “Can we go in already?” Tommy led the two of them into the club. There was already a band on the stage, playing away. Nikki, Mick, and Vince were at a table, waiting on them. Vince could tell instantly something was different since Stevie wasn’t pissed at him. Duff sat down in a chair and pulled Stevie into his lap.

“You two look happy,” Mick pointed out, chuckling a little.

“Well, you’re welcome,” Vince raised his drink. Stevie and Duff looked at each other.

“Thank you?” Stevie asked, confused.

“If I would’ve gone on the date last night, you two wouldn’t have hooked up,” Vince told them. “You did hook up, right? Or is this some weird, very close friendship thing?” Vince felt someone hit him in the back of the head. “Ow!”

“Call a lady when you’re going to cancel on them!” Tommy yelled at him.

“Shit…” Vince looked at Stevie with a sheepish grin. “Sorry…”

“Hey, I think it worked out,” Duff laughed, planting a kiss on her cheek.

“Glad you crazy fucking kids found each other,” Mick smirked. “Now, who’s going to bring me some vodka?”

****

“Goodbye New York!” Slash called out as the five headed towards the bus. Stevie was half asleep as she walked along with them. Her and Duff didn’t get back from CBGB until very early in the morning, and she had only been asleep for a few hours when management made her get out of bed.

“You okay sweetheart?” Duff asked, wrapping an arm around her as they walked towards the bus.

“Tired,” She yawned. Duff chuckled. He had told her not to go to sleep when they got back, but she looked so cute when she was like this, so he was going to keep his “I told you so” to himself.

They boarded the bus and Stevie dropped her bag by the couch and tossed herself onto it. She didn’t feel like making her way to the bunk. Being the only girl in a band full of dudes usually granted her her own room at hotels and bunk on the bus. But right now, she just wanted to sleep and the couch was right there.

“Sweetheart, let’s get you to your bunk,” Duff laughed, sitting on the floor by her.

“Screw consciousness,” She told him. “This is comfy.”

“How am I supposed to cuddle up next to you this way?” Duff asked, playing with her hair.

“You’re skinny, you’ll figure it out,” She told him. He laughed and stood up, reaching down and picking her up bridal style. She rested her head against his chest and he could feel his heart swell. Duff carried her back to the bunks while Izzy made a gagging motion, which caused Slash to bust out laughing.

“What are you laughing at?” Axl asked, getting on the bus, late as usual. He flopped down on the couch where Stevie had just been.

“Nothing,” Izzy shook his head. “Glad you finally decided to join us.”

“Oh, shut up Stradlin,” Axl shook his head. “I’m going to take a nap. Wake me up when we get to...wherever it is we’re going.” He stalked to his bunk and flopped down, falling asleep.

****

“Do you miss LA?” Stevie asked as her and Duff laid in his bunk. The bassist looked over at her. She had been super tired a few minutes prior, but now that she could go to sleep, her body decided she didn’t need to.

“I mean, yeah,” He shrugged. “Honestly, I really miss Seattle more.”

“I don’t remember living in Ohio,” Stevie told him, feeling him play with her hair. “I was so young when my dad walked out on us and it wasn’t long after that mom packed me up and went went to California. I don’t really remember a time where my dad, uh Melvin, wasn’t well, my dad.”

“Asshole,” Duff told her. “Who just walks out on his kid like that?”

“He beat my mom,” Stevie told him. “My grandma told me things he did to her.” Duff heard her sniffle. “Supposedly, he told my mom that he was leaving because of me.”

“What?” Duff turned onto his side so he could look at her. “You were just a baby…”

“Apparently I cried too much,” She wiped at her eyes. “So I try not to let anyone see me cry.”

“Sweetheart,” Duff cupped her face. “You never have to worry about me leaving you because of something like that.” She closed her eyes and relaxed into his touch. “The sperm donor was an asshole, and he was not your dad. And it’s his loss, because he didn’t get to see the amazing woman you grew up to be.” He moved forward and gently kissed her.

“When we’re done with the tour, I’m taking you to Seattle,” Duff told her after a couple moments. “I know you’ve been to see them before, but you deserve a family who loves you. And my mom adores you.”

“She does?”

“Yep,” He smiled. “Every time I talk to her or my sisters, they ask when I’m bringing you back over. They also kept asking me when we were actually going to go out.”

“Well, next time you talk to your mom, you can tell her you took me out,” Stevie’s smile had returned, but Duff could tell that she was actually getting tired now. He continued to play with her hair, knowing that it would put her to sleep. He smiled as her eyes fell closed.

“Night Stevie,” Duff whispered, kissing her forehead before falling asleep himself with her right up against him.


	11. Chapter 11

Axl woke up a couple hours after they left New York. Izzy and Slash had slept the night before instead of going out, so they were up, watching something on TV. Axl headed out towards them, but stopped when he looked at Stevie’s bunk, which was empty.

“Hey guys?” Axl asked as he made his way into the main area of the bus. “You seen Stevie?”

“Not recently,” Izzy informed him as he flipped through a magazine that had been left behind. “Why?”

“Her bunk’s empty,” Axl went to the small bathroom, but no one was in there. “Shit, did we leave her behind?” Izzy looked over at Slash and nodded for him to play along.

“You know, I don’t think I saw her get on the bus,” Slash pushed her bag so it was out of Axl’s sight.

“Oh fuck,” Axl looked out the window. “How far away from New York are we?”

“About halfway between there and Charlotte,” Izzy tossed out. “Duff is going to be pissed.”

“What am I going to be pissed about?” Duff asked. Stevie was still asleep, but he had to pee and he was getting hungry. He was hoping they were going to be stopping soon. Axl paled more than he already was and gave Duff a small smile.

“Hey Duff,” He said, trying to divert Duff’s question. “I gotta go look for something in the bunks. I’ll be right back!” He quickly went around Duff, heading back to the bunks. Duff looked at Izzy and Slash.

“What’s up with him?” He asked.

“He thinks we left Stevie in New York,” Slash laughed. “We’re just letting him stew.”

“Oh my god, you guys are awful,” Duff laughed. “I wanna play along.” He headed back to the bunks where Axl was looking around, Slash and Izzy following him. “Watchya looking for?” Axl jumped and smacked his head on one of the bunks.

“Uh...bandanna?” Axl asked. That’s when Stevie ripped open the curtain from the bunk she was in.

“Okay, okay, I’m fucking awake!” She snapped. Duff started laughing.

“Stevie thank god!” Axl smiled but then frowned. “Why aren’t you in your bunk?”

“Why don’t you just mind your own business Red?” Stevie sighed. She always was grumpy when she got woke up, but she’d balance out after she got some food. She climbed out of the bunk and made her way to the bathroom.

“I think we’ll be stopping soon,” Izzy patted Axl’s shoulder. “And we’ll be getting our sweet Stevie back.” Axl just sighed and headed back to the common area.

****

“I hope we get big like the other boys someday,” Stevie told Duff when they got back on the bus after their rest stop. She was lounging in a chair, watching the world go by the window. Duff was sitting by her, playing on a guitar.

“Well, yeah,” Duff smiled. “But what’s your reasoning?”

“They have a jet,” She told them. “Tommy said that they’re gonna grab me sometime and have me fly with them.”

“Not without me,” Duff laughed. “We’re gonna get there sweetheart. We won’t be on this bus forever.”

“I’m calling bullshit on that one!” Axl called out. “We have been on here forever!”

“We just stopped like an hour ago,” Slash grumbled. “We’re almost there.”

“It could always be worse,” Izzy added. “It could be a broken van while we’re touring around the west coast in freezing temps.”

“I got so sick on that,” Stevie shivered a little bit. “But at least this has heat and air. And good company.” She smiled at Duff. He reached out and squeezed her hand before going back to strumming on his guitar.

****

Duff, Axl, Izzy, and Slash made their way off the stage. Stevie would do a little solo to give them a break, then Izzy and Slash had a dueling guitar piece they wanted to do before they all came back out. Duff had gotten a drink or two before slipping away from the others to watch Stevie.

She didn’t do as many crazy things as Tommy did, but she was still so amazing. Tommy and her had been planning crazy stunts though. Duff was just glad they hadn’t actually gone through with one yet. He was so proud of her as he watched her do different pieces. He didn’t realize that Tommy, Nikki, Mick, and Vince were standing there, watching her as well.

She was done soon and headed backstage while Izzy and Slash did their thing to give her a minute. She walked backstage with a big smile on her face. Duff walked up to her and kissed her deeply.

“Not that I’m complaining,” She laughed a little. “But what was that for?”

“I love you,” He told her. “And you’re so fucking amazing.” The Motley boys all looked at each other. Did he just say…

“I love you too,” She smiled at him. Duff kissed her again.

“That’s so sweet!” They heard Tommy’s voice over the guitar. Stevie blushed and looked over at the boys.

“Get you some!” Nikki called out. Stevie looked at Duff.

“We really need new friends,” She laughed.

“Hey, we’re your best friends,” Vince threw his arms around them. “And I mean, I can take credit for getting you two together.”

“Yeah, standing me up,” Stevie rolled her eyes. “Good thing you’re cute Neil.” She patted his cheek.

“Ha! She thinks I’m cute!” Vince laughed. Mick just rolled his eyes.

“We gotta get back out there guys!” Axl stepped out of the dressing rooms. “Let’s go!” He grabbed Stevie’s hand and pulled her back onstage, Duff following along behind them.

“I think we take those two and fly them to our next destination,” Mick suggested. The other three looked at him. “What? They deserve some alone time, right?”

“Yeah,” Tommy nodded. “And Stevie and I can talk about setting her up a big stage thing like mine!”

"Yeah so Duff can kill you when she breaks something?" Vince teased. Tommy just glared at the frontman, with Mick standing by, rolling his eyes. Nikki went to tell Doc that Stevie and Duff would be joining them on the jet and to let Guns n’ Roses management know.

****

Saying that Axl was annoyed that Duff and Stevie got to fly with Motley Crue a couple times was an understatement. They had been boarding the bus when Tommy picked Stevie up.

“Tommy! Put me down!” Stevie squealed.

“Nope,” He laughed. “Come on Duff. You can fly with us too.”

“You’re kidding,” Izzy shook his head.

“Bye guys!” Stevie laughed as she was carried off with Duff getting their bags and following them. Axl turned to look at Slash and Izzy.

“What the fuck just happened?” He asked. The two guitarists just shrugged before getting on the bus. Axl glared in the direction that they had headed in before he got on the bus himself.

Duff and Stevie got to ride with the Motley boys for a few stops before Doc had enough of Tommy and Nikki recruiting Stevie to the terror team, so he sent them back to their tour bus three stops later.

“Look who came back,” Axl scoffed when Stevie and Duff boarded the bus.

“Someone’s just pissy that we got to be on the fun jet,” Stevie laughed.

“You know the only reason they wanted you there was so you’d be on your knees,” Axl mumbled under his breath, but the next thing he knew, he had a fist to the face.

“Duff!” Stevie called out. Slash grabbed Duff’s arm to stop him from hitting Axl again, and Izzy kept Axl back to keep him from hitting the bassist.

“What the fuck McKagan?” Axl asked, rubbing his sore cheek.

“Don’t say shit like that,” Duff growled. Stevie grabbed ahold of Duff and pulled him back to the bunks while Izzy and Slash dealt with a fuming Axl. “Sweetheart…”

“You don’t have to do that,” She told him. “I’m not worth breaking up the band over because Axl says something stupid.”

“Babe, I’d break up this band a thousand times if it kept you safe and happy,” Duff looked into her beautiful blue eyes. “You are my whole world, have been long before we got together, and Axl can go fuck himself.”

“Duff…”

“I meant what I told you,” The bassist pulled her to him. “I love you. And I’m not taking it back because of anything.” He gently kissed her, resting his forehead against hers.

“Uh hum,” Slash cleared his throat. Duff and Stevie turned to look at him. “Got Axl calmed down. I’d just stay back here for a while though.” He laughed a little. “So, do you guys need anything? Food? Water? Condoms? Because we don’t need any half bassist half drummer children running around.”

“How…” Stevie started

“I’ve lived with you for how many years now Stevie? And you and Duff both for five years? I know you two better than you know yourselves.” He smirked at them. “And I think Izzy knows too. Axl is the only one who doesn’t know.”

“Oh god, he’s dumber than Vince,” Duff laughed. Slash shook his head.

“I mean, you know he has had a massive crush on Stevie since we got together as a band, right?” Slash told them. Stevie’s eyes widened.

“Red has a crush on me?” She asked. “Oh god…”

“Wait, you really didn’t know?” Slash asked. Stevie shook her head. “Well, this is awkward…” He stood there for a second. “I’ll come get you guys when we stop.” With that, he left, leaving Duff and Stevie there. Duff pulled Stevie to him, letting her rest her head on his chest. Duff had known about Axl’s feelings for Stevie, but Stevie had been oblivious. 

“Hey,” He held her close to him. “Why don’t we take a nap, and when we stop, you and I will sneak away for a date?” Duff suggested. “Sound like a good plan?”

“Yeah,” Stevie nodded. Duff nodded and helped her into the bunk for a quiet nap.


	12. Chapter 12

This went on for about a month of the tour. Duff and Stevie would sneak off for dates and alone time, and Axl acted completely clueless. He didn’t see any difference between before and after they had started dating. Everyone in Motley Crue knew, and Izzy and Slash knew, but Axl had no idea.

And that made it so much more fun for the couple.

“I’m seriously surprised he has no idea,” Stevie told Duff as they got ready for the show. “I mean, I thought he saw you kissing me last night. And you sure as hell didn’t do that a few months ago.”

“Yeah, but I really should’ve,” Duff laughed and pulled her in for a kiss. Stevie leaned into it for a moment before realizing they had a show to do.

“Babe, you keep that up and we won’t make it to the stage,” Stevie laughed, pulling back to adjust her tank top.

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” Duff chuckled. He wrapped his arms around her and pressed against her. “We are a rock band. We can be a little late.” He placed kisses on her neck, hoping to convince her to let them be a few minutes, or well, several minutes, late.

“Yeah, but if we’re late, you can’t see what I picked up today in town,” Stevie moaned softly, letting her eyes slip closed at the feeling of his lips on her neck.

“Oh? Something for me?” Duff asked, smiling against her skin. He had a million things going through his mind at what she could have bought, and he really wanted to see what she got.

“Not if you keep this up,” She teased. “Because if we’re late getting out there, we’ll be late getting back to the hotel, and I just might be too tired to show you.” She pulled back from him to give him that smile that always made him putty in her hands.

“You tease,” Duff laughed a little as he watched her. He leaned in and kissed her again. “I love you though.”

“I love you too,” She smiled. She picked up her drumsticks and spun it. Duff couldn’t stop watching her as she did.

“God I’m really glad Tommy taught you how to do that,” Duff told her. “It’s so sexy when you do it.”

“You think everything I do is sexy,” She laughed. Duff shrugged.

“What can I say? You’re sexy and I love it,” He tried to kiss her again, but she ducked away and headed down the hallway with a laugh. She met up with Slash and Axl while Izzy walked up to Duff. He hadn’t seen Duff this happy in awhile.

“What’s with the big smile?” Izzy asked, watching the bassist. Duff looked over at him, the smile never wavering from his face.

“Mark my words Iz, I’m going to marry that woman,” Duff clapped him on the shoulder before following after the others, Izzy following right along behind him.

****

Guns n’ Roses got back to their hotel around thirty minutes after their set ended. In the gap between theirs ending and Motley Crue’s starting, the bad boys of Hollywood wanted to do shots and other shenanigans with the other band. Once they got back, Axl, Slash, and Izzy were ready to go back out and party, but Duff lied about having things to do, and Stevie told them she was tired. Axl missed the wink that Stevie gave to Duff.

“You two are losers,” Axl laughed. “Come on Stevie. Don’t you wanna hit a club or two with me?” He batted his eyes at her.

“Maybe later Axl,” She smiled at him. Axl frowned in return.

“Are you mad at me or something?” He asked. Stevie looked at Duff, Slash, and Izzy, confused. The other three shrugged.

“Not anymore than normal,” Stevie shrugged. “Why?”

“You didn’t call me Red,” He had grown fond of the nickname and it threw him off when she didn’t use it. She only didn’t use it when she was pissed off at him.

“See, I’m tired,” She told him. “Next city, we’ll go out okay?” She smiled at him and headed towards her room. Duff slipped into his when Axl turned around to look at the rest of the band.

“Fine. We’ll have fun without them,” Axl nodded, trying to hide the fact that this was bugging him so bad. “Let’s go.” Slash, Axl, and Izzy left then, leaving Duff and Stevie up to their own devices. Stevie gave it a few minutes while she changed into what she had picked up. It was a blue satin teddy with lace in all the right places. She looked at herself in the mirror, hoping that Duff would like it. She grabbed the hotel robe and wrapped it around herself. She peeked out into the hallway and heard it quiet. She walked over towards Duff’s room and knocked gently. Duff opened the door and smiled.

“Nice robe,” He laughed as she walked in. “Is that what you bought today?” He eyes her as she walked into the room.

“Maybe?” She smirked at him and shut the door. “Or maybe it was this.” She pulled the belt on her robe and let it fall to the ground, showing her blue teddy. Duff’s mouth hung open as he stared at her. “So, what do you think?”

“My god baby,” Duff pulled her to him, fingers trailing over the satin. “Totally worth being on time for the concert.”

“Yeah?” She asked, watching him. Duff started kissing on her neck, being rewarded with those noises he loved.

“Fuck yea,” Duff moaned into her neck, feeling the smooth satin under his fingers. “Need you baby.” Stevie leaned up for a kiss, pressing herself against Duff. Duff deepened the kiss, before pulling back to admire how gorgeous Stevie was. She smiled up at him, staring into his beautiful eyes. 

“You just gonna stare all...” She was cut off by Duff tossing her on his bed. She laughed as she landed on the mattress.

“Not just gonna stare babe, trust me.” Duff promised, pulling off his clothes and joining her on the bed. He crawled between her legs and pulled her down the bed before ducking under the pale blue nighty and licking a stripe along her dripping folds. 

“Oh, Duff,” Stevie moaned grabbing a handful of his blond locks. Duff took the opportunity to lick and suck at her clit, slipping two fingers into her and rubbing them along her g-spot. Stevie’s legs were trembling as she came on his tongue and fingers. Duff always insisted on making her come at least once from just the foreplay, which drove her out of her mind, when what she needed was him buried in her. Duff waited for her to start coming down before ramping up again with his mouth and fingers making her come screaming again. 

“Enough, Duff, I need you in me, please,” Stevie begged causing Duff to groan and lean back taking in the gorgeous site in front of him. Stevie’s flushed chest was heaving under the satin and lace, her eyes lidded and lips red and puffy from biting them. She looked like a goddess spread out for him. 

“Damn baby, you look...you look so fucking good like this,” he moaned. Stevie reached for him pulling him to her and wrapping her legs around his waist. 

“Come on, babe, I wanna feel you splitting me in two,” Stevie teased, rolling her hips against his, spurring him to action. Duff leaned back and lined up before slowly sliding home. Stevie’s back arching as he came flush with her. “Shit, it always feels like the first time no matter how often we do this.” she panted, legs wrapped around Duff’s hips, urging him on. 

Duff began rolling his hips, setting up a smooth, hard rhythm dragging orgasm after orgasm from Stevie, before finally tipping over himself and coming with the groan of her name. 

Afterwards, they laid tangled together, Duff running his fingers over the silky satin. 

“I love you so much Stevie.” 

Stevie snuggled into Duff’s side replied, “I love you Duff, more than you’ll ever know.” 

****

Axl was up early the next morning despite wanting to stay asleep. He really didn’t know why he was awake, but he knew one other person that would be up too. Stevie was usually an early riser, or early by rockstar standards. And since she had went to sleep at such an early hour, he just knew that she would be awake. He got up and pulled on some clothes before heading down to Stevie’s room.

“Stevie?” Axl knocked when he got to her room. When Stevie had left to go to Duff’s room the night before, she didn’t get her room all the way latched and the door opened. Axl poked his head into the room, expecting to see Stevie curled up in bed watching TV or something.

But instead, her bed was perfectly made and she was nowhere to be seen.

“Stevie?” Axl looked around the room, but it was obvious that she wasn’t there. She had been acting weird for the past few months, and now she was missing. Axl was starting to think she was getting involved in something that she shouldn’t be.

Axl backed out of Stevie’s room and headed down the hallway to Duff’s. While the boys always had to knock before entering Stevie’s room, they never really enforced that rule with each other. So Axl opened Duff’s door and headed in.

“Hey Duff, I can’t find Stevie and I…” Axl stopped dead in his tracks.

Because there on Duff’s bed, wearing just a t-shirt and watching the morning news while eating a bowl of fruit, was Stevie. She stared at the frontman and he stared back. The bathroom door opened then, steam coming out before Duff walked out in just a towel.

“Hey babe, I thought we could go see some sights before we leave,” Duff told her, not even noticing Axl standing there until Stevie didn’t answer him. He looked up and saw Axl standing there, staring at his girlfriend. “What are you doing in my room?”

“What is she doing in your room?” Axl asked, finally turning his eyes in Duff’s direction.

“Dude, she hasn’t slept in her room in months,” Duff laughed. Axl looked confused. His sleep deprived and hungover brain was not processing what Duff was saying.

“But, what if you want to bring a girl back? Or she wants to bring a guy?”

“Axl, I’ve only came back to the hotel with one guy for a few months now,” Stevie told him, shaking her head. She really thought he had it all figured out by now, but she was wrong.

“Wait...you’re not dating Tommy?” Axl asked, looking from Duff to Stevie. Stevie’s eyes widened and she had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing. Her and Tommy… 

“You thought I was dating Tommy?” Stevie asked, looking at Duff.

“Dude, Stevie and I are dating,” Duff explained. Axl just stood there, staring at them. The t-shirt was too big on Stevie, hanging off of one of her shoulders. There, Axl could see hickies. He saw clothes on the floor. He looked back at them.

“Axl?” Stevie asked. “Red, are you okay?”

“I gotta go,” With that, he rushed out of the room, letting the door slam behind him. Stevie looked at Duff and he could see the tears filling up. He quickly sat by her and pulled her into his side.

“Just let him cool off,” Duff told her. “It’s not like we’re doing anything wrong.”

“I know, I just...even Motley Crue are happy for us,” She sighed. “It’s okay though.”

“Hey,” He tilted her head to look up at him. “I still love you.”

“I love you too Duff.”

****

Later that afternoon, Stevie was dressed in a Jack Daniels t-shirt that she had cut off into a tank top and a pair of black leggings. She headed out towards the pool when a familiar head of red hair with a bandanna caught her eye. She sat on the lounge chair next to him. There was a bit of silence before Stevie spoke up.

“Hey Axl,” She spoke softly. He glanced over at her behind the dark sunglasses he was wearing. “You okay?”

“I’m great,” He mumbled, sipping his drink he had gotten before heading out to the pool. “Where’s Duff?”

“Him, Slash, and Izzy were going to go do something. I think get us lunch,” She told him. Things fell quiet between them again. “So…”

“You and Duff huh?” He asked. Stevie nodded, waiting for him to blow up. “Kinda surprised it didn’t happen before now, if I’m gonna be honest.”

“Yeah well, we both give the blonde stereotype a run for its money,” Stevie laughed. Axl chuckled and Stevie’s smile brightened.

“So, where do we go now?” Axl was actually facing her now, instead of side eyeing her from behind his sunglasses.

“Well, I mean, we’re still bandmates,” She explained. “And, with Duff being my boyfriend, I still have a spot for a best friend, if you’re interested… ”

“As long as you don’t make me hang out with Vince, I’m cool with it,” Axl smiled.

“But I thought you loved hanging out with Vince,”

“I hate you,”

“You love me,” She laid back on her lounge chair. The pair joked around and teased each other for a little bit before they were joined by Slash, Izzy, and Duff, who came bearing gifts of food. They all settled down to eat some tacos together. Duff noticed a change in Axl’s mood. He seemed happier than he had a few hours prior. Duff was about to say something when someone cut him off. A man that had been checking Stevie out across the pool had come over to try his luck with her.

“Hey there sexy thing, why don’t you come over here and sit with my friends,” A man said to Stevie. She rolled her eyes.

“Not interested,” Stevie blew him off, returning to her conversation with Izzy.

“Come on angel, flash us a smile.” The guy laughed. Stevie ignored him, continuing to talk with Izzy. “You know, you’d be prettier if you smiled,” He told her. Duff was about to say something, but before he could, Axl was in the man’s face.

“Leave her alone,” Axl hissed. “She’s not interested.”

“Who are you? Her bodyguard?” The guy laughed. He was a bit taller than Axl. He looked the frontman up and down with an amused grin on his face. “She needs to invest in a new one then.”

The rest of the band was ready to jump into action to beat the shit out of this asshole, but before anyone could do anything, Axl was tackling the guy and they were falling into the pool. 

“Holy shit!” Slash jumped up as the lifeguard at the pool called for hotel security. Together, Izzy and Slash pulled Axl out of the pool, who was struggling to get away from them. Axl was pissed and he meant business. The guy stared at him from where he was floating in the pool.

“You’re a fucking psycho!” The man screamed.

“No means no asshole! She told you she wasn’t interested in your ugly face!” Axl screeched back. Izzy and Slash took him into the hotel as security came out to see what was going on, Duff and Stevie following them. The two guitarists didn’t let the frontman go until they were on their floor. Axl pushed back his soaked hair as Stevie walked up to him.

“Red,” She hugged him. “Thank you.”

“No one fucks with my band,” He told her, returning the hug. Stevie pulled back and smiled before going to stand by Duff. He wrapped an arm around her, letting her fit against his side like she was meant to be.

Duff knew that if he wasn’t around, Stevie was safe. Axl, Izzy, and Slash would not let anything happen to her.


	13. Chapter 13

**Many Months Later**

“Mom!” Duff called as he opened the door to his mother’s Seattle home. The house was buzzing with activity, as his seven siblings, their partners, and his nieces and nephews running around. Marie McKagan popped her head out of the kitchen. Her eyes lit up when she saw her youngest son.

“Hi there sweetie!” She made her way over to him, hugging him. She saw Stevie standing behind him and quickly went to hug her. “Hi Stevie! I was so excited when Duff told me you’d be joining us.”

“Thanks for having me Mrs. McKagan,” Stevie hugged her back. She loved coming over to Duff’s family’s gatherings. 

“Now, how many times do I have to tell you that you should call me Marie. Mrs. McKagan makes me feel like an old Irish grandmother.” Marie shook her head. She thought after all these years, the girl would finally drop the pleasantries. 

“Sorry Marie,” Stevie smiled. “Duff and I brought a bottle of wine, and I attempted to bake a pie yesterday but I still can’t find anything in the condo.” Stevie told her as Marie led her to the kitchen, where there was a pretty large gathering. Duff smiled as she walked away, then he saw his brothers gathered around the TV.

“So, you, Slash, and Stevie got a new apartment?” One of Duff’s brothers, Bruce, asked as Duff went to watch the football game that was on TV with them.

“Yeah, we found a pretty cool two bedroom. Lot bigger than what we were living in,” Duff told them.

“You’re making Stevie and Slash share a room?” Another brother, Matt, asked. “Damn, you’re heartless.”

“No, Stevie and I are sharing a room. You know, because we’re dating,” Duff told them. His brothers all got quiet before question after question were thrown his way.

“When did this happen?”

“How long have you two been dating?”

“I thought she was dating Tommy Lee?”

“What happened to she’s just a friend?”

“It’s about fucking time!”

“Guys, guys, relax,” Duff laughed. “She got stood up by Vince one night and it led us to realize that we liked each other. Because we’re both idiots apparently.” Duff shook his head a little bit.

“Wait, she was supposed to go out on a date with Vince Neil? Like that guy from Motley Crue?” His brother Jon asked. Duff nodded. “And she went for you instead?”

“Ha, ha. You’re so funny,” Duff rolled his eyes. He looked towards the kitchen and saw that Stevie was busy, so he leaned forward. “Guys, I gotta show you something.”

“Oh god, you didn’t get her name tattooed on you somewhere, did you?” Mark laughed. Duff shook his head and reached into his jacket pocket. He pulled out a box and opened it to show his brothers the ring inside.

“I want to marry her,” He told them. “I bought this when she was decorating the apartment and I just, I’ve kept it.” He quickly put it away.

“Do you have any idea of when you want to do it?” Bruce asked.

“No, not really,” Duff told him. “I’m...I’m waiting for the time to be right. We haven’t been home very long and I just want it to be perfect.” He looked back over at her, watching as she laughed and made conversation with his mom and sisters. “She deserves it to be perfect.”

“Oh my god, he’s serious,” Matt pointed out.

“Yes I am,” Duff nodded. He stowed the ring box back in his jacket pocket and settled in to watch the game.

The day wore on and everyone sat down to eat. Duff held Stevie’s hand under the table periodically. He couldn’t get over how beautiful she looked while smiling, which was pretty much the whole day. Later, while people were breaking off to play cards, watch more football, and other things, Stevie volunteered to help with dishes duty so that Marie could rest. Duff made his way into the kitchen, where Stevie was working. He wrapped his arms around her and rested his head on her shoulder.

“How are you?” He asked. Stevie smiled.

“It’s so nice here,” She told him. “I’m not used to having such a big family around.”

“What do you think of Seattle?”

“It’s lovely,” Stevie told him. “It’s a little rainier than LA, but it’s kind of a nice change.”

“Would you ever want to live here?” Duff asked.

“Honestly? I would love it,” She went back to washing her dishes. “Your sisters were telling me that a house you were obsessed with as a kid is up for sale.”

“That’s what Andy was telling me, but I didn’t believe him,” Duff chuckled. “Wanna go take a look at it tomorrow?”

“Sure, why not?” She laughed. Duff started placing kisses on her neck. “Duff, what are you doing?”

“I missed you,” He told her, running his hands down her sides. “Can’t wait to get you back to the hotel.”

“Duff McKagan, you are something else,” Stevie shook her head.

“You love it.”

“Yes, yes I do,” She flicked some water at him and laughed. “But I’m trying to do the dishes right now.”

“Meanie,” Duff fake pouted, but he couldn’t keep the smile off his face. He leaned against the counter and watched her.

“You know it,” She laughed. “Let me finish these and maybe we can sneak out of here.”

“I like that idea,” Duff kissed her cheek. “Let me help, so we can speed up the process?” Stevie just laughed but let Duff take over the drying and putting away part while she washed and rinsed. Between the two of them, the process went pretty quickly and soon they were done and ready to head out.

“So soon?” Marie asked as they got their things. “But I haven’t seen you for a long time.”

“We’re sticking around for a bit,” Duff told his mom. “And we’ll see you before we head back to LA.”

“You better,” Marie hugged Stevie then hugged Duff. “You and I need to have a chat later.”

“Am I in trouble?” Duff asked. Marie glanced over to see that Stevie had been grabbed by some of his siblings and they were talking her ear off.

“A little birdie told me you’re wanting to propose,” She whispered to her son. “And all I can say is, it’s about time.” She patted Duff’s cheek. “I’m so glad that you’re happy. And I’m so glad that it’s with her.”

“Thanks mom,” Duff kissed her cheek. “We’ll be by before we leave.”

“If you don’t, I have seven other children I can send to kick your ass for me,” Marie teased. She gave the couple a smile as Duff and Stevie waved goodbye and headed out, going back to their hotel for the night.

****

“Duff, babe, this neighborhood looks really fancy,” Stevie commented as her and Duff drove through the Laurelhurst neighborhood. “Like, this looks like the Hills or something.” The house was in the center of the neighborhood, nestled on a large plot of land that looked out over the city. It was so peaceful, unlike the neighborhoods her, Slash, and Duff had been living in over the years.

“Yeah, it’s kinda an expensive neighborhood,” Duff explained, a fond smile finding its way on his face. “Andy and I used to ride our bikes through here all the time when we were kids. People who live here used to get so annoyed with us, but every time we passed this house, we knew that one of us was going to live here someday.”

Duff pulled into the driveway, where the real estate agent was waiting on them.

“You planned this, didn’t you?” Stevie laughed.

“Well, I thought I’d be going by myself honestly, because I wasn’t sure if you’d want to go look at the house or if you’d even want to live in Seattle,” Duff admitted. “But I’m glad you’re here with me.” He kissed her hand before they got out of the car. Stevie looked towards the house and was completely in awe of the huge building.

They took a tour of the house and the grounds, and Duff watched as Stevie fell in love with the house with each room they went into. Duff could tell she was processing everything, and she was already decorating the place. He just wondered if she would really be happy living there and not in LA.

They headed back to the car after they took the tour, the real estate agent giving them all the contact information they needed if they decided they wanted to put an offer in on the house.

“Well?” Duff asked as they settled in the car and started to drive off.

“I loved it,” She told him. “But we have the place in LA we just bought. And the band is there...”

“Yeah, but we’re not always practicing and touring,” Duff pointed out. “And Slash can take over the condo when we’re not there. I mean, I’m sure he’d love the alone time.”

“You really want this house, don’t you?” Stevie asked, looking over at her boyfriend.

“Uh...well yeah, but only if…”

“Because I really want it,” Stevie cut him off. “There’s so much I could do with that! And there’s room for a home studio! And it gives us a chance to leave LA when we’re not busy.”

“I thought this was going to be a lot harder to convince you,” Duff laughed. “So, you want it?” He pulled up to a red right.

“Yes!” Stevie kissed him as the light turned green. Duff started driving again, heading back to their hotel.

“I’ll call the agent before we leave,” Duff told her. “Fuck, we’re buying a house sweetheart.”

“It’s exciting,” Stevie sighed happily. “Our own house.”

****

Duff and Stevie made an offer on the house before leaving Seattle. They told Marie about it and she squealed and immediately started calling all of Duff’s siblings, telling them to put good luck into the air for their youngest brother. After that, they headed back to LA to meet up with the band. They had a few shows to play on the strip, back to their roots with their loving fans.

Axl and Izzy had come over to Stevie, Slash, and Duff’s condo for dinner after practice one afternoon. They were having a very heated discussion about who would win in a fight between Wonder Woman and Superman while they waited for their food to be delivered. The phone rang then, pulling Duff from the heated discussion.

“Excuse me,” Duff got up and went to answer it. He was gone for a few minutes as Stevie and Izzy defended Wonder Woman to Axl and Slash. He came back with a smile on his face.

“Who was that?” Stevie asked, looking up at him from her seat.

“Uh, that was the realtor,” Duff told her. “They accepted our offer.”

“Wait...you’re kidding?” Stevie asked. Duff shook his head.

“The house is ours babe.”

Stevie jumped up and wrapped her arms around Duff, kissing him deeply. Duff kissed her back, holding her close to him. The band all watched, amused, until Axl realized something.

“Wait, that means you guys are leaving,” Axl told them. “Does that mean the band is breaking up?” Duff and Stevie looked over at Axl, Izzy, and Slash.

“Well, no,” Duff told him, sitting down and pulling Stevie into his lap. “We figured that when we’re taking a break from tours and the studio, we’ll be up in Seattle, but we still will keep the condo for when we need to be here. But Slash, it’s all yours when we’re not here man.”

“I don’t know what I’m going to do without you two leaving your blonde hair everywhere,” Slash teased.

“And when we start getting settled, I thought we’d have you guys all up,” Duff gave a wink to Slash, who knew what the plan was. He had been with Duff when he picked the ring out.

“Well, this sounds like we need to celebrate,” Izzy commented. “Bring out the beers!”


	14. Chapter 14

It was close to Christmas when Izzy, Slash, and Axl landed in Seattle from LA. It was almost like a shock, going from a warm climate to one that was almost freezing. Axl wrapped his leather jacket around him. He had not been prepared for this.

“Why the fuck did they decide Seattle was a good place to live?” Axl asked as they headed towards Duff, who was waiting for them. “This seems like the total opposite of a good place to live!”

“It’s Duff’s hometown,” Slash shrugged.

“Well, Layfette is my hometown and you don’t see me rushing back to buy a mansion there!” Axl groaned. Duff met them halfway, waving at them.

“Hey guys!” He smiled, laughing a little at watching the three of them shivering and trying to bury themselves deeper into their coats.

“How can you be smiling?” Izzy asked. “It’s fucking cold.”

“Aren’t you from Indiana? With a known history of shitty weather?” Duff asked as they headed to Duff’s car and all piled in.

“I’ve been living in LA for about half of my life. I’m spoiled,” Izzy snapped back. Duff rolled his eyes.

“Come on. Stevie’s been doing stuff all day like unpacking and decorating. I told her when we got you guys there, we’d order food,” Duff started driving towards the house.

“You guys have been here for almost a month and you’re still unpacking?” Slash asked. “You didn’t have that much stuff.”

“Well, we’re trying to get the studio set up, and Stevie keeps getting distracted by Princess Peach.” Duff explained. The boys all looked at each other.

“What the fuck is a Princess Peach?” Axl asked, rubbing his hands together to warm up.

“Our dog,” Duff explained. “We thought we were getting a girl dog, got a boy, and Stevie thought it would be hilarious to keep the name.” The drive from the airport to Stevie and Duff’s house wasn’t that long of a drive, just enough for the boys to warm up some before having to step out into the cold again. Duff pulled into the driveway and laughed a little bit.

“What’s so funny?” Slash asked,

“Well, since you guys can’t really run away now, Tommy, Nikki, Mick, and Vince are here too.” Duff chuckled, knowing exactly what Axl’s reaction was going to be.

“What the fuck?!” Axl asked. “You didn’t tell me they were going to be here when you invited us!”

“Surprise,” Duff laughed. The boys got out of the car with their bags and headed inside. Christmas music was playing loudly as they walked in. It was warm, with a fire going in the fireplace, and it smelled slightly of cookies.

“Fuck, I wouldn’t have come if I had been told that Axl was coming,” Vince groaned when he saw them come in from his seat on the couch.

“Is it too late to go home?” Axl asked. Stevie came out of the kitchen from where she had been making cookies, done unpacking things for the day. Her face lit up as she saw her friends and bandmates.

“You guys made it!” She hugged Slash, Izzy, and Axl. A little pug ran up to them, excited about all the new people there for him to play with.

“Princess Peach?” Slash asked as the pug walked up to him. Duff nodded with a smile on his face. Slash knelt down to play with the dog, enjoying the kisses from the pup.

“Isn’t he the best?” Tommy asked with a laugh. He had gotten all the puppy kisses when they had came in a few hours before Guns n’ Roses did.

“I already ordered the pizza,” Stevie told Duff, walking up to him and giving him a quick kiss on the lips. “And I have cookies in the oven.”

“Damn, someone’s been busy,” Izzy laughed, going to take up a seat on the couch by Mick. “I like the place.” He looked around, admiring the decor of the living room.

“Gets kinda dark in here, but I like it,” Nikki laughed. Princess Peach jumped up onto the couch by him, loving when the bassist gave him some love. Duff had an arm wrapped around Stevie as he turned to look at the two bands.

“Okay, who wants a tour while we wait on the pizza?” Duff laughed. “And we have plenty of room if you guys want to stay here instead of finding a hotel or something.” They all go up and started to follow Duff around the house.

“Wow, this is a lot different than the condo,” Slash commented as they started walking around. Stevie stayed behind to listen for the door, but both bands followed Duff around, Tommy and Slash working as a buffer between Axl and Vince.

“There’s so much room,” Izzy nodded.

“It’s perfect,” Duff had a big smile on his face. “I’ve wanted this house since I was a kid. And here it is.”

“And Stevie likes it?” Nikki asked.

“Yeah, she does.” Duff finished showing them around. By the time they got back, Stevie was carrying the pizza into the dining room and setting them on the table. Everyone took seats around the table, passing pizza, breadsticks and wings. Stevie, with Tommy’s help, brought out beers and other drinks for everyone. Everyone was relaxed as they started to eat.

“This place is awesome,” Vince took a big drink of his beer and grabbed another slice of pizza. “We’ll have to remember it when we come up here on tour or something.”

“Not allowed when we’re not here,” Duff laughed. “Stevie will kill you if you trash the place.”

“Oh, come on Stevie, you love us,” Mick laughed. Stevie shook her head.

“I do. But not enough to let you guys destroy my home like we did that hotel in...multiple states,” She smiled at the boys. That’s when he gaze fell to the window and her eyes widened. “Duff! It’s snowing!”

“Oh fuck no,” Axl groaned. “I hate snow.”

But Stevie wasn’t listening to him. She jumped out of her seat like something bit her, running to get her jacket and shoes.

“Where are you going?” Slash asked, watching her. She turned to look at him like he had asked her the dumbest question in the world.

“Snow!” She yelled before turning back around to run outside.

“Wow, okay then,” Nikki laughed. “She’s excited about...Duff, you okay over there?” Duff had a goofy smile on his face. He stood up and looked to make sure Stevie wasn’t able to see what he was doing. He went to the hall closet and pulled a box out of one of his jackets.

“Oh my god, is it time?” Tommy asked, bouncing in his seat. Axl’s smile fell when he eyes the box in Duff’s hand.

“Yeah, I think it is,” Duff smiled at them. He pulled on his coat as the others got theirs.

“Come on Axl, get your coat. You don’t wanna miss this!” Tommy told the redhead, slapping him on the back. Vince noticed Axl’s quiet demeanor. Any other time, the frontman would’ve been yelling at Tommy. But he was quiet. Vince just shook his head and got his coat, heading outside with the others. Duff made his way out to their backyard garden, where Stevie was standing, watching the snow fall.

“Duff, it’s so pretty,” she laughed, looking up at the sky. “We never got this in LA. At least not on this scale.”

“See if you still like it in a few weeks when it’s slush,” Duff laughed. Stevie looked over to see Motley Crue and the rest of Guns n’ Roses coming outside.

“ Too bad there’s not enough for a snowball fight.” Stevie laughed. “We could have a couple kickass teams. Even though I think Izzy and Axl are allergic to cold and snow.” She turned back to look at the snow.

“You’re happy, right?” Duff asked. Stevie looked at him, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

“Of course,” She told him. “I love our house, I love Princess Peach, and I love you. Why?”

“Well, I just wanna make sure before I do this…” Stevie watched as the taller man fidgeted a little. “Stevie, I think I’ve been in love with you for much longer than I realized. And that’s why… I want to do this.” Stevie watched as Duff got on one knee and opened the ring box. She gasped and stared at him. She had had a feeling that this was coming, but she had no idea when. “Stevie Adler, will you marry me?”

“Yes!” She smiled and nodded. Duff slipped the ring on her finger, a gold band with a simple, yet elegant looking black stone. Stevie looked down at it, tears in her eyes. Duff stood up and cupped her face, kissing her deeply.

“Stevie’s getting married!” Tommy called out, running over to hug them. “Guys! Come on! Bring it in!”

The next thing Stevie knew, she was getting all kinds of hugs from her friends. She had a huge smile on her face as the snow fell around them.

No one noticed as Axl slipped back inside as Duff and Stevie got hugs and congratulations from their friends. He closed his eyes when he heard the happy laughter ring out. He wanted nothing better to do than to hide. Which is what he did, shutting and locking the door of the downstairs bathroom.

“Can we go inside soon?” Izzy asked. “As happy as I am for you guys, I can’t feel my fingers anymore.”

“Okay, okay, let’s go in,” Stevie laughed, admiring her ring. “I’ll make us hot chocolate.” They all headed inside, Stevie getting to work on making the hot chocolate for everyone while Duff found a game for them all to watch. Axl came out of the bathroom then.

“Where were you? You missed all the excitement,” Slash laughed.

“I had to piss,” Axl shrugged and headed into the living room to watch the game with the others. He let himself relax and argued with some of them over who was going to win, Seattle or Indianapolis.

Stevie watched them through the kitchen door as she heard the playful arguing and smiled. She finally had a family that loved her.


	15. Chapter 15

**A Few Months Later**

Stevie and Duff were back in LA, back to the condo for a little while while they worked with the band. Geffen wanted to put out another live album, since the first one flew off the shelves before Appetite for Destruction. They hadn’t fully announced their engagement yet, but someone had let it slip that Stevie was off the market. So, as they came back to LA, they were greeted with lots of speculation.

Each one more hilarious than the last.

“This one says I’m dating Jon Bon Jovi,” Stevie rolled her eyes and tossed the magazine. “I mean, could you really see me dating him?

“Well, that’s nothing,” Slash told her with a laugh. “I’ve got that she’s secretly married to Tommy Lee.” Slash added.

“When were you two going to tell me that you have a secret love child?” Duff laughed. “I would’ve been buying baby shit.” He added his magazine to the pile they had accumulated and shook his head. “How many think that Stevie and I are actually together?”

“One,” Slash told them. “Apparently, they don’t know you two idiots well enough.”

“Just a few months until the wedding though. Then everyone will realize we’re actually together.” Stevie told Duff as she kissed his cheek. “I’m going with a few of the girls to look at dresses today. Then I’ll meet you guys at the studio when I’m done.”

“Can’t wait,” Duff smiled. “I’ll see you later.” Stevie smiled and went to change before heading out. Once the front door shut, Duff sighed. He laid his head against the back of the chair and closed his eyes.

“What’s wrong?” Slash asked, reading another magazine. He could sense that something was up with Duff.

“Do you think I’m making a mistake?” He asked. Slash lowered the magazine and stared at the bassist.

“A mistake with what?” He asked.

“Asking Stevie to marry me,” Duff admitted. Slash stared at him, trying to process what he had just said.

“What the fuck are you on?” He asked. Duff looked confused.

“What do you mean?”

“You’re obviously on some kind of mind altering drug or something to come up with something as stupid as that!” Slash yelled. He sat up in his seat to look at Duff better. “Why do you think you made a mistake asking her to marry you?”

“I just...look at these pictures,” Duff motionined to the magazines. “Any one of these guys could make her happy. Like, you two even look happy and I just...”

“Dude,” Slash shook his head. Princess Peach ran to Duff, jumping into his lap and giving him kisses, just like the pup knew what was going on. “She loves you. And that little rat you call a dog loves you. They’re your family. She wouldn’t have agreed to marry you if she thought you were just a placeholder until she found someone better, or vice versa.”

“I…”

“How many dates did she actually go on before you two got together?” Slash asked. “Like real, actual dates.”

“I don’t know…” Duff admitted.

“Well, I count quite a few, but they were all with you,” Slash told him. “For five years, you two were dating without you two knowing it. You two are just too stupid to realize it!” Slash shook his head. “You know, why don’t we meet Stevie down at the bridal store and have lunch? She might like the surprise. You could get her flowers or something.”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea,” Duff nodded with a smile. “Come on, let’s go. I want to get her some beautiful flowers. I think she’ll like it.”

****

Stevie had finished up at the bridal store and decided she wanted to get something to eat before meeting the boys at the studio. It was a pretty day out and she was in a great mood. She had just stepped out and was heading to her car when she felt someone following her. Any other time, it didn’t really bother her too bad, but for some reason, fear was creeping in this time. She gripped her keys in her hand, ready to fight if she needed to.

“Micayla,” A voice said and Stevie just ignored it. If she ignored it, it would go away, right? “Micayla Coletti, I’m talking to you.”

“That’s not my name,” She hissed, turning to look at someone she never thought she’d see. A man stood there, staring at her.

“That was the name your mother and I gave you,” He chuckled. “You’ve grown.”

“Well, that’s not the name she kept after you left,” Stevie spat. “What do you want Michael?”

“I just want to talk,” He told her. She could smell alcohol on his breath. All she wanted to do was get away from him, but he had his hand on her door to keep her from opening it.

“I don’t want to talk to you,” She told him. “You just need to leave.”

“Micayla…”

“That’s not my name!” She went to push him away so she could get into her car when he grabbed her arm and squeezed.

“Girl, I am talking to you. I am your father and you will listen to me,” He snapped at her.

“You are not my father!” She yelled at him, pulling her arm free from his grasp. “You might have been the one to get mom pregnant, but you didn’t raise me! You are not my fucking father!”

The next thing she knew, his hand was coming across her face with a hard slap. Stevie fell to the ground, clutching her cheek. She was shaking as she looked up at him. It was almost parallel to what he did to her mother all those years ago.

“You’re just like your mother,” He told her. “A rude little bitch. I should’ve taken you with me. At least then you’d have some manners.” Stevie held her stinging cheek, afraid of what was going to happen next.

****

“Hey, there’s Stevie,” Slash told Duff as they parked the car. Duff got the flowers ready when he saw a man grab her. He watched for a moment, about to run over to her when he saw the man slap her and her go to the ground.

All logic went out the door as he raced out of the car, Slash right behind him.

“Hey!” He yelled. “What the fuck are you doing?!” Stevie felt relief wash over her as she saw Duff and Slash coming to her rescue.

“Back out of this,” Michael Coletti told him. “This is between myself and my daughter.”

“Your daughter?” Slash asked, his eyes widening when he realized what was going on. “You’re not Melvin Adler.”

“That’s her step dad,” Michael shook his head. “This girl needs some manners. Obviously her mother didn’t teach her that.” He reached down to grab Stevie, but Duff pushed him against the car before he could touch her.

“Slash, get her out of here,” Duff told him. The guitarist nodded and helped Stevie up. She curled into his side, trying to hide from Michael. Michael glared at her, gritting his teeth.

“I’m not done with her,” Michael growled. Duff held him against the side of her car.

“Yes you are,” Duff glared him down. He gave a quick nod to Slash, telling him to get Stevie out of there. Slash wrapped an arm around the drummer and walked her over to Duff’s car. “You will never, ever, come near her again. Do you understand me?” Duff kept all his attention on Michael, making sure he couldn’t pull anything. He would never forgive himself if Stevie got hurt worse by this man.

“That’s my daughter…”

“And I’m her husband!” Duff yelled, his eyes full of hate for the man he had pinned against Stevie’s car. “And you gave up all rights to call her your daughter when you walked out on her. If I ever see you around her again, you’ll have more than just me to worry about.”

“What are you going to do? Call the cops on me?” He laughed. He had been in trouble with the law before and he always got out of it. And this wouldn’t be the first time an angry partner called the cops on him.

“Worse,” He smirked. “She has a large family. Seven brothers. Two of them are over six feet tall. All of them know how to use guns and knives and have an attitude problem. And they don’t take too kindly to anyone messing with their Stevie.” He glanced over and his smirk got bigger. “In fact, there’s her two six foot brothers now, leaving that diner. Do you want to meet them? I’m sure they would love to meet you.”

“N-no…” Michael glanced over to where Tommy and Nikki were coming out of the diner. With the heeled boots on, they looked even taller than normal.

“Then get the fuck out of here and never contact her again,” Duff let go of him. “All I’ve gotta do is yell for them if you don’t agree.”

“I’m gone,” Michael shook his head. “But she’s probably a bitch just like her mother…” Duff felt his muscles tighten. “Might want to learn to keep her in line.” Was his final statement to Duff as he ran off. Tommy and Nikki had been to lunch and saw the man run off and Duff’s hands in fists.

“What’s up?” Nikki asked as the two walked up to Duff. “Who was that?”

“Stevie’s dad,” Duff informed them. “Stevie’s real dad. And he’s been informed that if he fucks with her again, there are seven very angry men that will make him rethink every decision he’s made in his life.”

“Where is Stevie?” Tommy asked, looking around.

“She’s in the car with Slash,” Duff took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. “He fucking hit her.”

“HE DID WHAT?!” Both terror twins yelled at once.

“Where’d the fucker go?” Tommy asked, already reaching for the knife that he kept on him in case of emergencies.

“He’s been dealt with,” Duff told them. “Come on, let’s go check on her.” The three headed over to the car where Slash was holding onto Stevie as she cried into his chest. He looked up at the three.

“Stevie,” Slash said softly. She looked up at him then saw Duff standing there and quickly launched herself into his arms. He held her close as she cried into his chest.

“It’s okay,” He told her. “Can I look at your face please?” She looked up at him and he saw the red mark from where he had hit her. “That son of a bitch…”

“We ever see him, we’ll kill him,” Nikki promised her, rubbing her back.

“Yeah, especially since you and I got married in Cancun or something,” Tommy told her with a smile. Stevie stopped crying and started to laugh then. “Sorry Duff, just couldn’t help myself. Even though we’ve never been there at the same time.” Duff shook his head.

“Feel like going out to eat?” Duff asked, looking down at Stevie. She nodded.

“Yeah I could go for some food,” Tommy laughed.

“Dude, you just ate a whole burger!” Nikki told him. “And my fries!”

“So? I could go for an ice cream or something,” Tommy shrugged.

“I’m starting to think they’re the ones who secretly got married, not Stevie and Tommy,” Slash laughed, causing Tommy and Nikki to glare at him. Stevie stayed pressed against Duff as they headed to go get some food. They headed into the restaurant and found themselves in the large corner booth.

“Thank you for helping me,” Stevie told Duff as they waited on their food. Slash, Tommy, and Nikki were arguing about something, not paying too much attention to the couple.

“Sweetheart, I will always be there to help you,” He cupped her face, gently running his thumb over the fading red area. “I just wish I would’ve got there before this happened.”

“You had no way of knowing,” Stevie told him. “Hell, I had no idea that he was going to come after me. I thought he forgot about mom and me when he walked out.”

“Well, he won’t come near you ever again,” He told her, kissing her gently.

“Oh, I have to ask you a question,” Stevie told Duff. “I...you already have Slash as your best man, which isn’t fair by the way because I’ve known him longer, but I don’t have any girls I wanna see up there with me. And I...I wanna ask Tommy.”

“You want Tommy to be your maid of honor?” Duff asked. Tommy looked up then.

“Do I get to get a dress and do my hair all pretty?” He asked with a laugh.

“Well, no, but I’ll paint your nails,” Stevie told him. Tommy sat there for a moment, considering it before a big smile crossed his face.

“You got yourself a maid of honor,” Tommy high fived her. She looked over at Duff, who just shook his head with a smile on his face.

****

**A Few Days Later**

“Hey Red,” Stevie walked up to Axl with a coffee cup in her hand. Axl looked up from what he was reading. He couldn’t stop the smile from coming to his face when he saw her without Duff as her shadow.

“Everything okay?” He asked. She stood there for a moment before she sat the coffee cup down in front of him. World’s Best Dad. “You trying to tell me something?” He laughed, even though it was just out of nervousness for what she was about to ask him.

“I...my dad is out of town,” Stevie told Axl. “He won’t be back in time for the wedding. He feels really bad about it but now...I don’t have anyone to walk me down the aisle.” She sat down across from him. “I was wondering if you would do it.”

“Me?” Axl asked. Stevie nodded. “Like you want me to walk you down the aisle?”

“Yeah, if you want to,” She looked down, afraid that he was going to tell her no.

And he wanted to. Not because he wanted to see Stevie unhappy, but because he didn’t want her to be happy with someone else. But he looked at her and knew that he couldn’t break her heart by turning her down. So he plastered a smile on his face and nodded. 

“Of course I’ll do it,” Axl gave her a smile. She stood up and wrapped her arms around him with a laugh.

“Thanks Axl, you don’t know how much this means to me,” She told him as she felt him hug her back. “I’m sad my dad won’t be there, but I’m glad I’ve got you. And you don’t have to keep the coffee cup.”

“Are you kidding?” Axl asked with a laugh, hoping that what he was actually feeling wasn’t showing up on his face. “I earned this coffee cup.” Stevie just smiled at him. “Are you...are you ready for this?”

“I’m very ready,” Stevie nodded. “Just a couple months to go.”

****

A few days later found the band sitting around, going over the songs for the EP they were going to be releasing. They had had fun going over the few songs that had been on their first one, and they liked the few new ones they went over. Now, Izzy, Slash, and Duff had their acoustic guitars to work on the last song.

“Sorry kid. No drums in this one,” Izzy shrugged. “We’ll figure out something to do when we do this live.”

“It’s fine by me,” She laughed. “Is this the whistle song?”

“Who calls it that?” Axl asked, looking at the rest of his band. Duff, Slash, and Izzy all raised their hands. “Fuck you guys.”

“Can we just play already?” Izzy grumbled. Slash chuckled and strummed a bit, making sure his guitar was in tune. Duff nodded and tapped his guitar.

“One, two, one, two, three, four,”

The boys start to play their guitars and Stevie watched with a smile on her face. Axl started his whistling for a few measures before the lyrics started.

_ Shed a tear 'cause I'm missin' you _

_ I'm still alright to smile _

_ Girl, I think about you every day now _

_ Was a time when I wasn't sure _

_ But you set my mind at ease _

_ There is no doubt you're in my heart now _

_ Said "woman take it slow, and it'll work itself out fine" _

_ All we need is just a little patience _

_ Said "sugar make it slow and we'll come together fine" _

_ All we need is just a little patience (Patience) _

_ Mm, yeah _

Axl looked up at Stevie as he started to sing the next lines. But he didn’t see Izzy look up at him. He was too busy staring at Stevie to notice.

_ I sit here on the stairs _

_ 'Cause I'd rather be alone _

_ If I can't have you right now, I'll wait dear _

_ Sometimes I get so tense but I can't speed up the time _

_ But you know love there's one more thing to consider _

_ Said "woman take it slow and things will be just fine" _

_ You and I'll just use a little patience _

_ Said "sugar take the time 'cause the lights are shining bright" _

_ You and I've got what it takes to make it _

_ We won't fake it, I'll never break it _

_ 'Cause I can't take it _

Stevie wasn’t looking at Axl as he sang the words that were meant for her. Instead, she was watching Duff, amazed by everything he did. And Axl could feel his heart clench. It also made his blood run hot and added fire to the last part of the song.

_ Little patience, mm yeah, mm yeah _

_ Need a little patience, yeah _

_ Just a little patience, yeah _

_ Some more patience, yeah (I've been walking the streets at night) _

_ Just trying to get it right (A little patience, yeah) _

_ It's hard to see with so many around _

_ You know I don't like being stuck in the crowd (Could use some patience, yeah) _

_ And the streets don't change but maybe the names _

_ I ain't got time for the game 'cause I need you (Gotta have more patience, yeah) _

_ Yeah, yeah, yeah but I need you (All need more patience) _

_ Oh, I need you (All need some patience) _

_ Oh, I need you (Just a little patience) _

_ Ooh this time (Is all you need) _

“I think this is a hit guys!” Stevie laughed and smiled at her boys. “You outdid yourselves this time.” Duff sat his guitar aside and kissed her gently.

“Get a room you two!” Slash laughed, shaking his head. “Or save it for the wedding.” Izzy looked over at his friend, seeing Axl looking away from the scene.

“I gotta go get some smokes,” Axl announced, standing up to grab his keys and wallet. Stevie was about to ask for Axl to grab her a pack of Marlboro’s, but he was already out the door.

“Is he okay?” Stevie asked.

“Eh, it’s Axl. He’s probably PMSing,” Slash joked. Izzy stood up and headed outside after the frontman.

“Axl, wait,” Izzy called after him. “Axl!”

“What?” Axl asked, standing by his car.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“That’s bullshit,” Izzy shook his head. “We’ve been friends since we were, what, thirteen? I know you’re lying. So spill.”

“I can’t sit there and watch that,” Axl whispered, not able to look at the guitarist.

“Watch what?” Izzy asked, then it hit him what he was meaning. “Shit. Axl…”

“I...it doesn’t fucking matter,” Axl shook his head. “She made her choice. I just hope he realizes what he has and he doesn’t fuck it up.”

“Axl, you have to tell her,” Izzy told him. “It’ll eat you up.” Izzy knew all too well what that would do to you. He had been dealing with it for awhile now.

“And what will it do Izzy?” Axl asked. “Nothing. Because they’re getting married. Because I’m walking her down the aisle. Because they’ve been in love for years and I’m just an asshole who fell in love with her too.” Axl shook his head. “I’m gonna grab some booze and smokes. I’ll see you later Iz.” With that, Axl got into his car and drove away, leaving Izzy standing there in the dust.


	16. Chapter 16

**Two Months Later**

“Look at my little girl!” Deanna Adler said as she watched Stevie’s hair be done and the veil pinned into it. Stevie was looking in the mirror as the stylist pinned the flower crown veil into her blonde hair. It was Tommy’s suggestion that she do that, and honestly, she really liked it.

“Mom, stop,” Stevie laughed. She glanced over at Tommy, who was indeed getting his nails painted. Fingers and toes. “How you doing over there T-Bone?” Tommy had a big smile on his face as he looked over at the bride.

  
  


“I feel so pampered!” He laughed. “I like the color you chose Rocket Queen.”

“Rocket Queen?” Deanna asked, looking at her daughter with a raised eyebrow.

“Long story,” Stevie shook her head. “Do you think Duff’s gonna like it?” She looked over at her dress. It almost glowed in the sunlight coming in through the window.

“I think he’s going to like taking it off of you,” Tommy pointed out.

“Thomas!” Stevie shook her head. “Mom, ignore him. He’s an idiot.”

“But I’m your favorite idiot!” Tommy teased.

“Actually, I think her favorite idiot is Duff,” Deanna laughed.

“Mom! Not you too!” Stevie sighed.

“What? I joke around too,” Deanna shrugged. “God, you look so beautiful.” She smiled fondly at her daughter. “I had a feeling that McKagan boy was going to be your one the day you brought him to meet me. It was the 4th of July, wasn’t it?”

“Yes mom,” Stevie smiled. She looked over at Tommy, who has a questioning look on his face. “I brought him with us up to the observatory to watch the fireworks.”

“That’s so cute!” Tommy told her. “But how did you two meet? I don’t think you’ve ever told me this story.”

“Slash put an ad in the paper that we needed a bassist for our band Road Crew,” Stevie explained. “And he called and we agreed to meet at a restaurant. Because technically we weren’t old enough to get in the bars.”

“Not that that ever stopped you,” Deanna muttered. Stevie rolled her eyes.

“Anyway, Slash and I were waiting and thought he stood us up when this giant man walked in with a long coat and spiked, blue hair,” Stevie laughed. “I thought he was seven feet tall or something, because he was wearing those thick boots like you guys would wear. And he was so shy, but super sweet. We hit it off right away, and might have annoyed Slash with as much as we talked to each other. He moved in with Slash and I when were in a two bedroom hole, because he didn’t have anywhere else to stay, and eventually, we found a nice three bedroom. Well, nice by the strip standards.”

“Can’t be any worse than the place Nikki, Vince, and I shared,” Tommy told her. “That place had be be torn down by the time we were done with it.”

“Yeah it wasn’t quite that bad,” Stevie shook her head. “I might have snuck into a party there once.” Stevie winked at him.

“You did not?” Tommy laughed.

“She was, and still is, a wild child,” Deanna pointed out. Stevie shot a glare at her mom before turning her attention back to Tommy.

“Anyway, I think I fell in love with Duff at that 4th of July,” Stevie admitted. “And that year, he took me to Christmas at his house. And I barely had any money. And I made him this god awful braided bracelet that he won’t freaking take off.”

“He loves it,” Tommy pointed out. He had seen that bracelet. Duff never took it off for anything.

“Okay sweetie, I think you’re ready to get in your dress,” Deanna told her daughter. “Tommy, we’ll see you in a little while.”

“Oh, I don’t get to watch the Rocket Queen change?” Tommy asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

“Want me to get Nikki in here?” Stevie countered.

“No, I’ll behave,” Tommy sighed. Stevie smiled and followed her mom out the door.

“Seriously, why does he call you Rocket Queen?” Deanna asked.

“You really don’t want to know,” Stevie laughed. They headed to the main bridal room to get Stevie into her dress.

She had been unable to find one that she loved, so Vince and Mick pulled some strings to help her out. She had found a black dress she had liked, so they took the dress and her measurements to their wardrobe department at Elektra, and a few weeks later, a wet dress was delivered to the drummer. It was longer than the black one, which she had wanted, but it fit just as well as the black one had.

As Deanna helped zip her up, Stevie looked at herself in the mirror. She ran her hands over the dress.

“Do you think he’ll like it?” Stevie asked. 

“Who? Duff?” Deanna asked. Stevie nodded. “Sweetie, he’s not marrying you for the dress. He’s marrying you because he loves you.”

“What if he realizes he doesn’t love me after he marries me?” She asked softly.

“Not every marriage turns out like Michael Coletti and mine,” Deanna told her. “When I look at you two, I know it’s going to last. You’re going to be Mrs. McKagan for a long, long time.” Stevie smiled some.

“I’ll still use Stevie Adler as the stage name,” Stevie told her. “Duff and I already talked about that.”

“See, you’re already communicating,” Deanna smiled at her daughter. “That’s a good start.” 

****

“Dude, you’re getting married,” Slash laughed as him and Duff got their tuxes on. Izzy was already ready, sitting in a chair, watching as Axl got ready. “Even though, if you ask me, it’s just making it official, because you two have been married for years now.”

“I just can’t wait,” Duff had a smile on his face as he messed with his hair. “Do you guys think she’ll like the song?”

“You could burp her the alphabet and she’d love it,” Izzy pointed out. Duff and Slash both laughed. Nikki knocked on the door before coming in.

“What’s so funny?” Nikki asked. “Maybe the fact that you’re missing your bow tie?” Nikki held up the item and Duff looked in the mirror. Sure enough, he was missing his bow tie. “Should’ve had me be your best man. Slash is slacking.”

“I barely slept last night,” Slash shook his head. “I hung out with Stevie since Tommy’s her maid of honor.” Nikki shook his head and handed Duff his tie. “Speaking of that, I’m going to go check on her and see how she’s doing.” He slipped out as Vince and Mick came in, wanting to see how Duff looked all dressed up.

“Looking good man,” Vince laughed, not making eye contact with Izzy and Izzy was fine with it. They had gotten into a fight earlier in the year over something Vince’s wife had told Vince, and Izzy really didn’t want to bring it up again.

“I’ve never seen this many rock stars in tuxes before,” Mick shook his head with a chuckle. Vince walked over to Axl, who was finishing up getting ready.

“Always the bridesmaid, never the bride, right Rose?” He teased. Axl glared at him.

“I’m going to go grab a smoke before it starts,” He announced, walking out. Izzy sighed and turned to look out the window. Vince just shrugged.

“Must be in a mood or something,” Vince laughed. “He’ll miss out on the pre wedding shots.”

“Oh god, not that again,” Mick groaned. “I barely remember Tommy’s first marriage with the pre wedding shots.”

“We...did we do shots with Heather?” Vince looked at Nikki.

“No, I think he means that one he was married to for a month,” Nikki pointed out.

“Wait, what?” Vince asked. “You guys are pulling my leg, right?” Nikki and Mick just laughed, leaving Duff and Izzy to look at each other and shrug.

****

There was a knock on the door as Deanna and Stevie finished up getting ready. Stevie excepted it to be Tommy, trying to catch a peek of her in the nude, but when Deanna went to it, Slash was standing there.

“Is she decent?” Slash asked with a laugh, not that it really mattered if she wasn’t or not. Deanna smiled and opened the door for him to come in. Slash stopped when he saw Stevie. “Oh wow.”

“You’ve already seen me in it once,” Stevie laughed.

“Yeah but this is different,” He smiled at her, taking a step closer. He had been there when she got to try on the dress that the Motley boys had gotten for her. She looked beautiful then, she looked stunning now. “Duff’s gonna be speechless.”

“I’ll be right back,” Deanna told them, stepping out to go check on a few things. Stevie watched her leave and sighed some.

“Do you think he’ll really like it?” Stevie asked. She was so worried about what Duff was going to think when he saw her. She didn’t wear dresses often and she felt weird in it, which meant she probably looked weird too.

“If he doesn’t, I’m kicking his ass,” Slash laughed. He stood there, watching as she rechecked herself in the mirror again. “You know, you’re six months older than me, but I always saw you as my little sister.”

“Slash…” Stevie turned to look at her longtime friend.

“And I just want you to know that even though we’re not sharing a shoebox anymore, pulling our change to buy a couple cans of soup, you’ll always be my sister. And even when you’re living in Seattle, if you need me, I’ll be right there.”

“Slash, you’re gonna make my makeup run,” Stevie dabbed at her eyes. Slash pulled her to him and hugged her.

“Love you Stevie,” He told her.

“Love you too,” Stevie sniffled. Slash pulled back and smiled. Deanna came back then.

“Axl’s waiting out in the hallway for you,” Deanna reported with a smile on her face. “Izzy’s got the music ready to go.” They had decided that they wanted a small, intimate wedding. Her and Duff each had one person in their wedding party, and the only guests were Duff’s large family, Stevie’s mom, and Motley Crue. Stevie had told Duff that they always were performing for a crowd with Guns n’ Roses, that she didn’t want their wedding to feel like another concert. And he completely agreed with her. Axl was taking place of Stevie’s dad, and Izzy was in charge of the music. They had everyone that they wanted to be at the wedding there.

That being said, the reception was going to be at the Rainbow, and they had invited people to that party.

“Ready?” Slash asked Stevie. She smiled and nodded, making sure she had everything on.

“Very.” Slash smiled at her and held the door open for her and Deanna. Axl was waiting out in the hallway in a tux. He looked up as the three of them walked out.

“Hey Red,” Stevie laughed. “How do I look?”

“Amazing,” He told her, pushing off the wall to walk to her.

“I’ll see you out there sweetie,” Deanna told her daughter, kissing her cheek. Her and Slash headed towards the ceremony room, leaving Axl and Stevie in the hallway.

“You looked amazing,” Axl told her. “Duff’s a lucky guy.”

“You’re just saying that,” She laughed a little.

“Stevie, I…” Axl was going to confess it all to her. He was going to tell her he had been in love with her for awhile now. He was going to get it all off his chest before she walked down the aisle. But something stopped him. And that something was Tommy Lee.

“Hey dudes, it’s time,” He smiled. “You look good Rocket Queen!”

“Gee, thanks T-Bone,” Stevie laughed and shook her head. Tommy went bouncing down the hallway towards the hall. Stevie turned back to look at Axl. “What were you saying Red?”

“I was saying...let’s get you to your groom Popcorn.” He had recently started calling her Popcorn, since she bounced around like a piece of popcorn that was being cooked. He offered his arm to her, which she took.

“Think you can convince Tommy to start calling me that?” Stevie laughed. “He keeps calling me Rocket Queen.”

“I mean, you know that you and Duff aren’t exactly quiet, right?” Axl laughed a bit. Stevie was mortified. “Come on, your prince awaits you.”

Axl walked Stevie down the aisle. When Duff turned to see her, his breath was taken away. He had seen her in a dress before, but this was different. She looked stunning as she walked towards him. Izzy watched from where he was seated with the organ, his heart fluttering some. 

“I told you that you could pull off a flower crown,” Duff finally whispered when Axl gave Stevie to Duff. Stevie smiled at him, blushing softly.

The ceremony was beautiful, a combination of Jewish and Catholic aspects to cover both their upbringing. Everyone in attendance cheered when Stevie and Duff said their “I Do’s” and finally kissed. Duff couldn’t stop the smile that was on his face as he looked at his wife, cupping her face gently.

“I love you so much,” He told her as they headed back down the aisle, hand in hand. Axl watched them with hurt in his eyes.

“I love you too Duff,” Stevie waved to everyone as they headed towards the car that was going to take them over to the Rainbow. Duff kissed her deeply as they climbed in. Duff was driving, Stevie in the passenger seat.

“Come on Mrs. McKagan,” Duff smirked. “We have a party waiting for us.”

****

The Rainbow was full of excitement as the reception got started. There was music and food. A table was covered with presents from the various musicians, family, and friends who had been invited. Stevie and Duff danced together while everyone watched.

“You look so beautiful,” Duff told her as they moved around the dance floor. “But, I can’t wait until later. Because I think that dress will look amazing on our bedroom floor.”

“Oh, you think so?” She asked, looking up into his eyes. Duff smirked.

“I know so,” He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her lips.

While Stevie and Duff were dancing, Izzy took a deep breath and made his way over to Axl, who was sitting at a table, sipping a drink. Izzy stood at the table, clearing his throat, causing Axl to look up at him.

“What’s up?” Axl asked, trying to look anywhere but at the dance floor.

“Can we talk in private?” Izzy asked, shifting from one foot to the other. Axl risked a glance at Duff and Stevie before he nodded and followed the guitarist out of the man room into a hallway. Izzy was visibly nervous, and Axl could just stare.

“So, what is it?” Axl asked. Izzy took a deep breath.

“I know you’re upset about today,” Izzy told him. 

“Oh, c’mon Iz. I’m fine,” Axl shook his head.

“I know you’re just saying that Axl,” Izzy was getting more nervous.

“Okay, well what were you going to say?” Axl asked. “Just spit it out already.”

“I’m in love with you,” Izzy said bluntly. Axl laughed a bit.

“I know man. I love you too. You’re like my brother.”

“No, I mean...I love you,” Izzy watched Axl’s face as he registered what was being said. Izzy took a step back, just in case Axl’s knee jerk reaction was to punch him.

“I...what?” Axl asked. “I mean, we’re both straight and…” Izzy shook his head. “Come on man, I’ve known you since we were kids. You’re straight.”

“No I’m not,” Izzy told him. “We grew up in fucking Republican country. A gay kid in the 70’s? I would’ve got the shit beat out of mean and strung up in downtown Lafayette.”

“What do you want me to do with this?” Axl asked.

“I...nothing.” Izzy shook his head. “I don’t know why I said anything.” He ducked back into the party, leaving Axl standing there, wondering what the hell just happened. It took him a moment to cipher through everything. Izzy was gay? And he liked Axl? He shook his head and headed back into the party, where the dance was coming to an end. He didn’t see Izzy anywhere, and maybe that was a good thing.

After the dance, they cut the cake. Everyone had food and drinks, and there was dancing going on. Stevie made her rounds, talking and laughing with people, when Nikki came up to her.

“Sorry guys, I’ve gotta steal the bride,” Nikki told the people she was talking to. Stevie frowned as he led her back towards the stage area.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“Someone has a gift for you,” He told her, leading her to a chair centered in the middle of the cleared out dance floor. Stevie was confused as she sat down. Then she looked up at the stage and saw Duff, Izzy, and Slash standing there with acoustic guitars in hand. Axl stood in the back of the room, watching Izzy at a distance.

“Hey babe,” Duff smiled at Stevie. “I wanted to give this to you. We’ve been working on it for a bit and well, I hope it explains it all.” He nodded at Izzy and Slash. They started to strum their guitars as Duff stood in front of the mic.

_ ♪You're my flower, you're my road _

_ That I try to stay up on _

_ Even when things, they go wrong _

_ You stay there with me _

_ You don't stay for what I do _

_ The sleepless nights I drug you through _

_ When I say things I don't mean to _

_ You stay there with me _

_ You uncovered this outlaw soul _

_ You should've gone, baby, long ago _

_ But you shined a light where it was dark _

_ On my wasted heart _

_ When I flew, you pulled me down _

_ When I crashed, you were the ground _

_ Where my bones are scattered all around _

_ You stayed with me _

_ You uncovered this outlaw soul _

_ You should've gone, baby, long ago _

_ But you shined a light where it was dark _

_ On this wasted heart _

_ My wasted heart needed healing _

_ And you saved it for me _

_ I've got a new start, rest your eyes _

_ In time, these days will say what I never could _

_ You stayed with me _

_ You uncovered this outlaw soul _

_ Should've gone, baby, long ago _

_ But you shined a light where it was dark _

_ Oh, you uncovered this outlaw soul _

_ Should've gone, baby, long ago _

_ But you shined a light where it was dark _

_ On this wasted heart♫ _

“Duff,” Stevie whispered, tears streaming down her face. Duff sat the guitar down and jumped off the stage, going to her and holding her close to him. “That was beautiful.”

“It’s everything I’ve wanted to say to you for years,” He told her, brushing a tear off her face. “Bet your glad you went with the waterproof mascara, aren’t you?” He laughed a little bit.

“You just think you’re so funny, don’t you?” Stevie smiled up at him.

“I know I’m funny,” He leaned down and kissed her, the whole party cheering. Izzy put his guitar down and got off the stage as Stevie and Duff went off to socialize. He was half tempted to leave, when someone grabbed his shoulder.

“Stradlin,” Vince growled. “We need to fucking talk without your bodyguard around.”

“Vince…” Izzy turned to look at the blond. “I didn’t hit Sharise man. I didn’t even talk to her outside of saying hi. Just leave me alone.” He went to leave but Vince pulled him back.

“And why the hell should I believe you?” Vince asked.

“Because Sharise is a woman,” Izzy told him. “And I’m gay.” Vince's eyes widened and he let go of Izzy. “So if you’re gonna hit me, you might want to go talk to Axl. Because I think he wants to hit me too.”

“No, I don’t want to hit you,” Vince’s voice was soft and understanding. “Does anyone else know?”

“I, uh, Stevie and Duff know,” Izzy nodded. “Stevie was the first person I told, and she helped me tell Duff. I’m sure Slash and Dizzy know. I just told Axl and...he didn’t take it well.”

“Fucking hell,” Vince shook his head. “Why the fuck did you let me hit you at the awards show? Why didn’t you tell me then?”

“I wasn’t ready to come out in front of all of MTV’s cameras,” Izzy told Vince. “It might be the 90’s, but a lot of people are still stuck in the fucking 50’s. I already hate myself enough as it is for not just being fucking normal.”

“Hey! No. You don’t hate yourself for this. You can’t control this,” Vince grabbed his arms so Izzy was turned to look him in the eye. “You can hate yourself after a night of heavy drinking, or eating way too many chili dogs. Hell, you can hate yourself for your fashion choices. But you never, ever, hate yourself for this.”

“Vince…”

“No. I know what you’re going through, okay? If anyone says shit to you, you tell me and I’ll have two six foot children and a literal demon there in a heartbeat. Do you understand?”

“Yeah…” Izzy nodded. “I’m gonna head out though. I’m still afraid Axl’s gonna hit me. I want to give him some time to calm down.” Vince let go of him and nodded.

“Call if you need anything. And I mean anything,” Vince told the guitarist. Izzy nodded and took his leave then.

“Hey, you seen Izzy?” Slash asked. “Stevie wanted to dance with him.”

“He...he had a headache. I told him to go home and relax,” Vince told Slash.

“Oh, I hope he’s okay,” Slash turned to go let Stevie know. Vince sighed.

“You and me both kid,” Vince headed over to a group of people to grab a drink and mingle.

Soon, the reception was over and the honeymoon could begin. The McKagan’s were going to Hawaii for a couple weeks, just the two of them. Princess Peach was going to be staying with Slash and his snakes, but Slash promised Tommy he could take the dog whenever he wanted.

Duff kept an arm wrapped around Stevie as they waited to board their plane hours after the party was over. He kept placing kisses on her whenever he could, making her laugh.

“Duff, why do you keep doing that?” She laughed.

“I want to get a million kisses in with my wife,” He told her. “And I’m never going to get tired of saying that.” He laughed. Stevie just kept smiling.


	17. Chapter 17

**A Couple Months Later**

It was back to work. The honeymoon was long over and Axl was starting to turn the band into a dictatorship. They were working on some new songs for the big album Axl had planned. He had even brought in a full time keyboard player named Dizzy Reed. He was a pretty nice guy, but they had to call him Reed and use Izzy’s last name in order to help with first name confusion, not that it worked half the time.

Stevie could feel a slight shift in the band as they worked on the song “Civil War”. Things were getting tense, Axl was snippier than normal, Izzy wasn’t hanging out and was distancing himself from the frontman, Slash seemed grumpy, and things just were not the same as they had been.

And then they were told about Farm Aid.

“Wait, isn’t that the thing Bob Geldof did?” Slash asked as they were sitting around, talking about it. Geffen had given them some information about it, and they were passing it around, reading about it.

“No, that was Live Aid,” Dizzy informed them.

“This was started by Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, and Neil Young,” Duff told them, reading the paper the information packet.

“Oh, so it’s Pot Farm Aid,” Stevie laughed a little. She wasn’t feeling very great right now and was resting against Duff. He carded his fingers through her hair.

“Well, where is it?” Izzy asked Duff. He was sitting on the other side of Stevie on the couch, putting as many people between him and Axl as possible. Izzy had told Stevie what had happened, and she didn’t really blame him. Duff looked at the venue date and location and started to laugh. “What?”

“You’ll love it,” Duff told him. “Farm Aid 4 will be at the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis, Indiana.”

“Fuck!” Izzy and Axl both groaned at once.

“Just when I think I’m out, it pulls me back in,” Axl sighed. Izzy rolled his eyes.

“We get like twelve minutes,” Duff flipped through the paper. “So we can do a couple shorter songs.”

“Or, we can premier “Civil War”,” Slash suggested. “I think it’s ready and we still have a few weeks to perfect anything we don’t like.”

“I think that could work,” Axl agreed. “Okay, we’ll put the other music on hold until we’re sure that Civil War is 100% ready.”

****

**2 Days Before Farm Aid**

Stevie was throwing up again. Her stomach didn’t hurt, and she didn’t have a fever, but it had been happening on and off for the past couple weeks. What she thought had been the flu or food poisoning had to be something else. She had a feeling she knew what it was. So, while Duff was out with the other guys, Stevie went to the drugstore and bought a pregnancy test. She followed the instructions on the box and waited for the results.

And it came back positive.

She was pregnant. Her and Duff were having a baby.

While she was excited, they had this big concert coming up. They were all so excited and so focused on it, she didn’t want to take away from it.

So the announcement could wait a few days until the event was over, right?

She tossed the test in the trash and went back to packing for the trip. It gave her plenty of time to think of the best way to announce it to Duff. She wanted to do something special. She was sure that she would have a big way to announce it to her husband by the time the concert was over.

****

**Indianapolis, Indiana**

**Two Days Later**

“Oh Indiana, the Hoosier state,” Axl sighed as they walked out of the airport to the car that was taking them to the hotel. They would drop their stuff off before heading to the venue for Farm Aid. Thankfully, it was April, and while it wasn’t exactly warm, it wasn’t as cold as they thought it would be, but it wasn’t warm either.

“What is a Hoosier?” Duff asked as they got in the car. Izzy sat by him and Stevie while Dizzy and Slash sat with Axl.

“The fuck if I know,” Axl shook his head.

“Well, you’re from here. Shouldn’t you know?” Dizzy pointed out, to which Axl glared at the keyboardist. He just gave the frontman a sheepish smile in return.

“A Hoosier...is a person from Indiana,” Izzy supplied as he lit his cigarette.

“Thanks for your knowledge Mr. Stradlin,” Slash laughed. Stevie rested her head on Duff’s arm and closed her eyes for a brief moment.

“You okay?” He asked her as the car made the trek from the airport to the hotel. He played with her hair gently.

“Yeah, just tired,” She told him. “Practice today, event tomorrow, then I’m going to sleep for a few days.” She knew she shouldn’t do it, but she hadn’t been eating very much to limit the morning sickness until after the event. She really didn’t want to blow the surprise by throwing up everywhere.

“Then it’s back to work on the albums you mean,” Axl laughed. Stevie sighed.

“Yeah, that’s what I meant…” She closed her eyes again.

Duff frowned as he looked at his wife. Something was wrong, he could feel it. He knew that she wanted to go back to their Seattle home. Hell, he did too. But while they were working on the albums, they had to be in LA. It wouldn’t be too much longer and they could go back. Maybe that would cheer her up. He knew it would make him feel better.

They got to the hotel and their manager was given all the keys before they headed up to the floor. He passed them all out and Izzy, Duff, and Stevie immediatly went to their rooms, leaving Dizzy, Slash, and Axl to mingle for a bit. Upon arriving in their room, Stevie threw herself on the bed. Duff would’ve laughed, but she had been so under the weather here the past few weeks.

“You feeling okay babe?” Duff asked, brushing her hair back.

“Yeah. Just this flu or whatever is really taking it out of me,” She laughed a little. He placed a kiss on her forehead.

“Axl can let us have a couple days off after this,” He told her. “He’s got all the words and music written down for this big, extravagant album. We just have to put it together. Hell, I think Dizzy already has a lot of the synth stuff down. Plus, I think that Izzy and everyone else could use a few days off too.”

“Yeah,” Stevie nodded, curling up farther into the blanket on the bed.

“You really aren’t feeling good, are you?” Duff asked. She just looked up at him. “After practice, we’ll get something to eat. Dinner, just the two of us?”

“That sounds amazing,” She stretched. “I miss our one on one dates.”

“Me too sweetheart.” He leaned down and pressed his lips against hers. “Come on, let’s get to rehearsal.”

****

They practiced the two songs they were going to do at the venue, watching while people set up everything around them. Civil War followed by Down on the Farm. Everything sounded great in the large venue, but Stevie really just wanted to go back to the hotel and go to bed. She really hadn’t been feeling good, but she was looking forward to a night out with her husband.

“Ready to go babe?” Duff asked when they got done. Stevie smiled and nodded.

“Let’s go,” She laughed and took his hand. They headed out, heading to one of the downtown restaurants that had caught Duff’s eye.

“How about when we get back to LA, we take a week and go back to Seattle?” Duff asked as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders as they walked. “I know you miss the house. I miss it too. We could spend the whole week there.”

“That sounds amazing,” Stevie admitted. “But don’t you think Axl would throw a fit? You know how he wants to get this grand work of his out.”

“Screw him,” Duff rolled his eyes. “I don’t care if his fucking album doesn’t get out on time. All I care about is that my wife is happy.” Duff led her into the somewhat busy restaurant, but they got a table pretty quickly thankfully. They took their seats and ordered their drinks, Duff not seeming to notice that Stevie didn’t order alcohol when he ordered a beer.

“You think Axl and Izzy are happy to be back?” Stevie asked, sipping on the juice she had gotten.

“I think they’re fine as long as we don’t play Lafayette,” Duff laughed. “But soon, we’ll be back home in our bed and getting a much deserved break.”

“Yeah,” She nodded. “Duff, I…” Stevie was going to tell Duff what she had been wanting to tell him since she saw the positive test, but she was cut off.

“I’m here with them!” She heard Izzy tell the hostess. Duff and Stevie looked up as Izzy joined their table as the waitress came to get their order. “Hey guys!” He gave them a small smile. Duff and Stevie looked at each other before looking back at Izzy.

“Hey Iz,” Duff smiled. “What are you doing here?”

“Well, I wanted a table and they’re kinda busy, and you had an extra seat. And, you know, sharing is caring,” The guitarist smiled at them. “And the first place I was going to, Axl was going and...I just don’t really want to spend time with him…” Stevie sighed a little.

“Make yourself at home,” She told him. Izzy nodded.

“Right on,” He took a menu to order his food. Stevie went with something light, since her stomach wasn’t agreeing with food. Duff and Izzy chatted while Stevie picked at her salad. Soon, they were done and the trio headed back to their hotel. Stevie shivered a little and Duff placed his jacket on her shoulders. 

“You okay?” Izzy asked, looking at Stevie. He had adopted her like a sister just like Slash had, since she had been so supportive of him when he told her everything.

“I’m fine,” She told him. “Just kinda tired.” She snuggled into Duff’s jacket.

“I think her and I are gonna take a week and go back to Seattle,” Duff told Izzy. “Princess Peach is probably missing us. He’s been staying with Stevie’s mom, and I know he misses my mom. She spoils the brat.”

“King Axl won’t like that, but if you guys take off, I’m going to lock my apartment door and chill out for that week. Or maybe I’ll go someplace too,” Izzy smiled at them. “Let’s go get some sleep. We’ve got a big day ahead of us.”

****

Stevie slept through the wake up call. She slept through Duff getting up and opening the curtains. She just buried herself deeper into the blankets. Her body hated her and she really didn’t want to get up. Duff crawled onto the bed and placed kisses on her.

“Babe,” He whispered to her as he kissed her neck. “Get up.”

“Don’t wanna,” She groaned.

“Sweetheart, you have to,” He chuckled. “I know you’re tired Stevie, but once we’re done, we can ditch Izzy, Axl, Dizzy, and Slash. Head back to LA, snag Princess Peach, then get to Seattle and spend a week in our bed.” He kissed her shoulder.

“Okay, okay, I’m getting up,” Stevie told him. “But I’m not happy about it.”

“I know honey,” He laughed and watched as she got up and started to get ready. Duff watched her for a minute before he got ready himself.

****

The event was packed. There were so many artists gathered around, chatting, and the fans filled the stadium. They were all backstage, getting ready. Stevie watched as Izzy casted a couple looks in Axl’s direction, almost like he wanted to talk to him, but he just shook his head and buttoned his shirt. They were ready and led out to the stage for their small set. A quick warm up with the crowd staring at them and they were ready to go.

Stevie focused on the drums. That’s all she could manage to do. But fuck, why did Axl start wanting their songs to be seven minutes and longer. And they still had one more song to do. She just needed to focus on the drums and they would be done soon.

And they were, thankfully. They took their bows, waved at the crowd, then headed backstage. Dizzy, Axl, Slash, and Duff were walking ahead of Stevie and Izzy. Izzy was talking to Stevie.

“You excited to get back to Seattle?” Izzy asked, glancing over at her. “Too bad we can just work on it up there so you guys can be in your home for awhile or something.” He noticed that Stevie was quiet. “Stevie?” He looked at her, expecting to see her still walking with him.

Instead she stopped walking as the hall started to spin.

“Stevie?” Izzy asked again. The next thing he knew, her knees were buckling and she was going down to the ground. “Shit! Stevie!”


	18. Chapter 18

“Shit! Stevie!”

Duff heard Izzy call out and he turned around. The last thing he expected to see was his wife on the ground. Izzy was kneeling next to her, trying to wake her up as Duff ran over.

“I’ll get help!” Dizzy took off while Slash and Axl headed with Duff.

“Stevie?” Duff was quickly at her side, fear gripping him as he saw her closed eyes. “Stevie!” She groaned and her eyes fluttered open. “Babe, are you with me?”

“Duff?” She looked up at him. Dizzy had come back with the EMT’s as Stevie slowly sat up. The EMT’s did a quick check before they helped her off the floor and sat her in a chair to give her a more intensive check to see if she needed to go to the hospital. That included asking her different questions.

“Name?”

“Stevie McKagan.” The EMT gave her a weird look. “Adler is my stage name.” The EMT’s nodded.

“Are you on any drugs or have you been drinking?”

“No.”

“When was the last time you ate?”

“I had some salad last night.”

“Are you pregnant?”

“Yes.”

Duff’s mouth dropped open as he stared at his wife. Everyone stared at the drummer.

“Wait, what?” Axl asked, not sure if he had heard her right. “You’re pregnant?” Stevie nodded, not finding the words at the moment.

“Okay Mrs. McKagan, I think it would be best if you went to the hospital for an examination,” The EMT told her. “We want to make sure that you and your baby are both okay.” Stevie sighed.

“Okay,” She agreed. She didn’t have to look up from the spot that she was staring at to know that her bandmates were still staring at her. The EMT’s helped her into the ambulance and sat her on the gurney. She sat there, waiting for the doors to close, but someone climbed into the ambulance with her. She looked up to see Duff getting in and taking his seat. “Duff?”

“I’m not letting you go by yourself,” He told her, looking up at her. “What kind of husband would I be?”

“Are you mad?” Stevie asked, keeping her voice low. Duff’s eyes softened when he saw how upset she was.

“I’m upset you didn’t tell me, but I’m not mad,” He shook his head and held her hand. She finally looked up at him. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I found out a couple days ago,” Stevie explained. “And we were all so busy and excited about the festival. I thought it could wait until after.” Duff kissed her hand.

“I love you,” He told her, a smile spreading on his face. “And we’re going to be parents.”

They got to the hospital and were placed in a room in the ER so they could run Stevie’s blood and make sure everything was okay. As they waited, Stevie fidgeted a little, her anxiety off the charts at this point. Duff watched her.

“Are you okay?” He asked. She nodded, but Duff could tell something was wrong. “What is it?”

“Just thinking,” She told him. “I...I think that if everything’s okay with the baby, it would probably be best if I stepped down.”

“Stepped down?” He asked, a little confused until he realized what she meant. “From the band?”

“Yeah,” She told him. “It’s not fair to you guys to put things on hold because of me.”

“Babe…”

“The band means everything to you guys,” Stevie told him. “And I don’t want to ruin it.” Duff sighed and ran a hand down his face.

“If that’s what you want,” He nodded. “I just...I don’t like it.”

“I know, but if everything goes smoothly, I could come back,” She gave him a smile. “And there are a ton of drummers out there who are better than me.”

“That’s a lie,” He sighed and stood up to kiss her temple. “But I’ll stand by your decision sweetheart.” He cupped her face and smiled at her.

Duff had just sat back down when the doctor came in with a clipboard that had Stevie’s file. They looked up as the woman smiled at them. Duff’s hand quickly found Stevie’s and he gave it a squeeze.

“Hi Mr. and Mrs. McKagan,” She greeted them. “We did your bloodwork and you are in fact pregnant. And it seems that the cause of your fainting was low blood sugar.”

“Like from not eating?” Duff asked, casting a look over at his wife.

“That’s right,” The doctor nodded. “And that combined with stress put a lot of strain on your body. So, I highly recommend taking it easy, relaxing as much as you can.” She flipped through the pages. “I also want you to make an appointment with your family doctor when you get home and get a referral for an obstetrician.”

“A what?” Duff asked.

“OB/GYN,” The doctor smiled. “Other than that, I say mom and baby are both okay, as long as you eat at consistent times. Don’t be afraid to let your body feel cravings sweetie.”

“Okay,” Stevie nodded. “Thank you.” The doctor nodded and soon a nurse was coming in to discharge Stevie. Duff helped her off the bed and walked with her, an arm wrapped around her shoulders. As they made their way towards the entrance, they saw four familiar people sitting in the waiting room. Izzy was on one side, putting space between himself and the others, with Slash and Dizzy sitting between him and Axl. Slash knew everything that had happened between the rhythm guitarist and frontman at the McKagan wedding, and he was trying to help Izzy out the best he could.

“What are you guys doing here?” Duff asked with a laugh when he saw the rest of the band.

“Stevie faints, we’re going to the hospital,” Axl told him, nodding at his own statement.

“How is everything?” Izzy watched the couple for signs of distress.

“Well, I am pregnant,” Stevie told them. “And I had low blood sugar from not eating.”

“But the baby and you are okay?” Dizzy asked this time. Stevie smiled and nodded. He stood up and hugged prompting the others to do the same.

“We gotta get to the airport,” Axl told them after he hugged the drummer. “You should take a day off to relax before we get to the studio.” Stevie looked up at Duff, communicating to her husband without speaking. Talking about waiting until they were back to LA to let them know that she wasn’t going to be returning as the drummer. Duff wrapped an arm around her for support.

“Let’s go home guys,” Duff told them as they left the hospital, heading for the airport.

****

“What are you doing?” Duff asked the next day. They had went straight to the condo, hiding in their bedroom while Slash went to talk to his girlfriend and play with his snakes, threatening Princess Peach every time he growled that he was going to feed the pug to them. Today, Slash had went out, leaving the McKagan’s alone. The condo was quiet for the most part, outside of Stevie rifling through some papers.

“I have a friend that might be interested in taking my place,” Stevie told Duff, smiling to herself when she found the piece of paper that she needed. “He’s really good. Slash and I saw him play with the Cult not too long ago.”

“Are you sure you want this babe?” Duff asked. “We can tell Axl to fuck himself and just let you have a break.”

“He’ll just fire me. I’d rather quit on my own terms,” Stevie explained. She sighed and picked up the phone, holding up the flyer that had the phone number on the back. “He gave Slash his number and told him if he ever wanted to jam, just give him a call.”

“Sure he didn’t give his number to you?” Duff teased. He knew that plenty of people found Stevie hot. He was sure that at least three fourths of Motley Crue did, as well as other people who played on the strip. Stevie just rolled her eyes at him.

“I was lucky enough to fool you into marrying me. I don’t think I could pull in anyone else. My magic is depleted,” She kissed his cheek before dialing the number. It rang a few times before someone finally picked up.

“Hello?”

“Matt? It’s Stevie,” She told him. “Slash’s friend.”

“Oh! Hey Stevie!” Matt laughed. “What do I owe this phone call to?”

“Well, I have it under good authority that a drummer position is going to be opening up in a big band,” She explained. “And I thought you’d want a crack at it.”

“Depends. What band?” Matt asked. Stevie sighed and looked at Duff.

“Guns n’ Roses,” She told him. There was silence on the other end.

“Are you and Slash fucking with me?” He asked. “Because you’re the drummer.”

“No one is fucking with you Matt,” Stevie told him. “I’m quitting. It’s a long story but I’m going to tell them tomorrow and set you up with them so they can seamlessly continue moving.”

“You’re husband’s not gonna kill me for wanting your spot, is he?” Matt asked, a little nervous.

“Duff’s not gonna kill you unless you start acting like a certain redhead we know,” Stevie assured him. “I’ll have Slash call you and set up a day to come play for them.”

“Okay. Well, thanks Stevie,” Matt told her. “I’ll talk to you later.” With that, they both hung up. Stevie looked over at Duff, and in an instant, he had her wrapped up in his arms. He knew she was scared and hurting because of this. He held her close to his chest.

“I love you so much,” He whispered, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “It’s all gonna be okay. I promise.”

****

Axl, Izzy, Slash, and Dizzy were all in the studio when Stevie and Duff walked in. They had been out in the parking lot for a few minutes while Stevie tried to get up her nerve. This band was her family, the family she had always wanted. But she knew that in order to keep her baby healthy, she had to take a break from it. She didn’t want to, but she knew she had to. 

“Well, there you are,” Izzy teased. “I thought Axl was the one who was supposed to be late all the time.”

“Shut up Stadlin,” Axl rolled his eyes, but he had a small smile that he quickly chased away. “Are you guys ready?”

“Actually, no,” Stevie sighed. “Guys, I gotta tell you something.”

“Everything okay?” Slash asked, watching his friends. They hadn’t even told him the plan yet. “Is the baby okay?”

“The baby’s fine,” Stevie rested a hand on her stomach. There was no bump yet or anything, but she was sure that she would be showing soon. “But I’m...I’m stepping down.”

“From the band?” Dizzy asked, looking at the others.

“Just take some time off and then come back and we’ll work on the album,” Axl shrugged like it was no big deal. Stevie shook her head.

“What I mean is...I quit,” She told them. The silence that fell over the studio was a little unnerving. Never in her life had she heard any of the Guns n’ Roses members this quiet.

“You quit?” Slash finally spoke up. “Stevie…”

“We can take a break. It’s okay,” Izzy added. Stevie shook her head.

“It’s already been awhile since Appetite came out. I don’t want us...you guys to be a one hit wonder band,” She could feel the tears filling her eyes. “So I think it’s best for everyone that I quit. I think I even found you guys a replacement that you might like. Matt Sorum from the Cult.” She looked up at them when no one said anything. They were all staring at her.

“Duff, tell her she’s being fucking stupid!” Axl spat. “She’s going to let this come between her and the band?”

“That’s enough,” Duff growled. “I don’t want to watch her lose our child because she’s stressed by YOUR deadlines! And I don’t want to lose my wife! So I’m going to stand by her decision!”

“By letting her destroy the band?” Axl snapped, standing up. “All the work we’ve done, gone!”

“Axl, stop,” Izzy growled at Axl.

“All because you two don’t know what birth control is?” Axl ignored the rhythm guitarist. “You’ve only been married a few months!”

“Axl, chill,” Dizzy tried this time, but he still wasn’t listening. Axl opened his mouth to say something else, and Slash could tell that it wasn’t going to be good, so he jumped between Duff and Axl before fists could start flying.

“That’s enough!” Slash told them. He turned to look at Axl. “You keep this up, and it’s gonna fucking stress Stevie out and she’ll lose the baby! Do you want to be responsible for that?!”

“No…” Axl sighed. He looked around. “Where is she?” Duff looked to where Stevie had been, but she was gone.

“Stevie?” Duff called out. He quickly left the studio and headed down the hallway, his heart pounding. Looking down the hallway, he spied Stevie sitting on a bench. He made his way over to her, telling that she was crying. “Babe, are you okay?” He asked, kneeling in front of her and cupping her face. There were large tears falling down her face.

“T-they all h-hate me,” Stevie cried.

“No they don’t,” Duff shook his head.

“Yes they do!” She started crying again and Duff pulled her to him, letting her cry into his chest. Duff sat by her and held her until the crying died down. He heard a noise in the hallway and looked up to see the four horsemen; Dizzy, Axl, Slash, and Izzy.

“Babe, I think someone wants to talk to you,” Duff told his wife. Stevie looked up and saw the boys and started crying again. Slash made his way over and immediately hugged her.

“Do you really have to quit?” He asked. “It just won’t be the same without you sis.”

“I want GNR to be successful,” She told him as the others walked over. “And I’m not going to abandon my boys completely. I’m going to go out on tour with you guys. I’m just not playing.”

“Yeah...wait, what?” Duff asked. “Babe, I don’t know about…”

“This could work,” Axl nodded. “So when this guy screws up, we can just snag Stevie from the hotel room.”

“But what if she has the baby on stage?” Dizzy asked.

“Do it!” Slash laughed. “We would get so much press!”

“I’m not having my baby on the stage,” Stevie rolled her eyes. “And you guys will like Matt, I promise. Slash, you already know him.”

“Doesn’t mean I want him to replace my favorite drummer,” He told her, hugging her into his side.

“I will accept your decision on one condition,” Axl told her and Duff then. Everyone looked at him. “If it’s a boy, you name him Axl.”

“You can’t be serious,” Duff stared at him.

“And if it’s a girl?” Stevie asked, intrigued to see where his mind was going.

“Bailey,” He told her.

“We are not naming our baby Axl or Bailey...right?” Duff looked at Stevie.

“I mean…” She laughed. “We’ll just have to wait and see. We still have awhile.” She wiped her eyes. “You guys are still my boys though.” Izzy hugged her.

“We love you Stevie,” He told her before taking a step back.

“I love you guys too,” She nodded, looking at the guys. “Oh, Axl, you do realize that Rose could be a girls name, right?”

“I take back the Bailey part then and replace it with Axl!”

“Too late man,” Dizzy told him. “You already put it out into the universe. No take backs.”

“That’s not fair! I didn’t even think about Rose!”

Stevie watched them all argue and joke around. It was like the past half hour hadn’t even happened. It made her think back to the early 80’s, when they would all hang out and were playing the small clubs. She had to smile as she watched them though.

They’d do just fine without her.


	19. Chapter 19

Matt was good. Duff didn’t want him to be, because he felt he was disrespecting Stevie by admitting it, but Matt was really fucking good. It sounded as close to the original line up as they could get without being the original line up. There were some obvious sound differences, but that couldn’t be helped.

The worked on the album, well actually, there were two. Axl had pushed for enough material to cover two albums, so that’s what they were doing. Duff and Izzy both thought that some songs should be cut out and just one album released. But Axl wouldn’t budge, even insisting that both albums needed released on the same day.

“Fine!” Duff threw his hands up in the air. “Whatever gets you to shut up!”

“He’s just pissy that he hasn’t gotten laid since Stevie found out she was pregnant,” Slash teased with a smirk on his face. Duff glared at the guitarist.

“Our sex life is none of your business,” Duff growled.

“But you’re not denying it,” Izzy laughed. Dizzy stood in front of Duff, stopping him from attacking the two guitarists. 

“How is she doing?” Matt asked, trying to calm the situation.

“She keeps having pains and her blood sugar won’t stay balanced,” Duff told him, running his fingers through his hair to calm himself down. “I just want her to be okay. I’m trying to convince her to just relax in Seattle while we’re on tour, but she wants to go still.”

“Because she’s stubborn,” Dizzy pointed out. He had only played with her for a little bit, but from the stories he had been told about before her and Duff got together, they were both stubborn.

“She just wants to make sure you’re not tapping anything on the road,” Axl added.

“Thanks for having faith in me not fucking up my marriage guys. Means a lot,” Duff sighed. “I just don’t want anything to happen to her.”

“She’s how many months along now?” Matt asked. “I think you guys are in the clear.”

“Yeah,” Duff took a breath. Management had scheduled the first leg of the tour to end around Stevie’s due date, so Duff would get to spend about a month or so with his wife and baby before he had to go back out on tour. Which he really didn’t want to do. He wanted to be able to stay longer to help Stevie. 

He wanted to be a better dad than his had been.

“Hello?” He heard Stevie’s voice. Duff turned and smiled when he saw his wife standing in the doorway of the studio room. The guys all greeted her like they hadn’t seen her the day before, going off about how good it was to see her, how she was glowing, etc. She walked over and gave Duff a quick kiss on the lips.

“Everything okay?” Duff asked, slightly worried that her impromptu visit was to tell him something bad. But she smiled and nodded, chasing away some of his fears.

“Everything’s great. Doctor said little bean here is growing nicely,” Stevie explained. “Actually, she was able to tell me the gender.” That got everyone’s attention.

“Well, what is it?” Axl asked, watching her. “I bet it’s a boy. Axl McKagan is going to be so cool.” Stevie just smiled and handed Duff a small shopping bag. After her doctor’s appointment, she had stopped stopped at the mall and found a cute little outfit to use to announce the gender. Duff took the bag and opened it, peering inside. He looked up at Stevie.

“Really?” He asked. She nodded. He slowly pulled out the small outfit to show the guys. A little pink onesie with little flowers on it. “We’re having a girl!” He jumped up and wrapped his arms around Stevie, pulling her to him and giving her a deep kiss. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too,” She smiled at him. The next thing Duff knew, the rest of the band, even Axl, were coming over to give her hugs and there were talks about a band baby shower at the Rainbow, how they would invite everyone who played the scene and how “Bailey or Rose McKagan” would be the most glammed out baby. Duff stood back and watched, the smile never leaving his face.

****

Unfortunately, the rest of that afternoon didn’t go as smoothly as the morning had. Because after Stevie announced the gender to the band, Axl started being a total asshole, yelling at everyone and just being a dick. Izzy had stormed out after a fight with Axl about the guitar line he was working on. That had been hours ago, and honestly, Duff and Slash were a little worried about him. Since Axl obviously wasn’t going to continue practicing, the two decided to go look for the guitarist themselves. Plus, Stevie had invited Izzy and Slash for dinner, and Duff didn’t want to disappoint her.

“You know where we have to go,” Slash told Duff as they headed out to their cars. “We gotta go to Ventura.”

“Why?” Duff asked. Slash stared at him.

“You’re kidding, right?” Slash asked. “That’s where all the gay bars are.”

“How do we even know that’s where Izzy is?” Duff asked.

“How do we know he’s not there?” Slash countered. Duff sighed.

“Stevie’s never gonna let me live this down,” Duff sighed. “Come on, let’s go.”

****

“Which one?” Duff asked. “Like, you and Vince have been hanging out with Izzy a lot. If you don’t know, he might?”

“I think I have a matchbook of Izzy’s,” Slash rummaged in his jacket and pulled out a matchbook for a bar called The Place. “It’s worth a shot.”

Together, they headed into the bar. They didn’t have hopes of finding Izzy, but as they looked around, Duff spotted something in the corner booth

“Slash,” He snagged the guitarist. “Look.” He pointed over to the booth. Sure enough, Izzy was there, a blond kissing on his neck. Izzy’s eyes were closed, so he didn’t see Slash and Duff walking up to him. The blond had slipped his hand into Izzy’s unbuttoned shirt, about ready to ask him if he wanted to get out of there.

“Uhm hum,” Duff said. Izzy opened one eye and groaned.

“What the fuck?” He sighed. “How did you find me?”

“You gave me a matchbook. It was a hunch,” Slash reported. The blond looked at them and Slash swore he knew him from somewhere. And the bright pink leggings looked familiar.

“Who’s this?” He asked. “Your boyfriend?”

“Bandmates,” Izzy sighed. “Very, very cruel bandmates.” Izzy leaned over and gave him a kiss. “I’ll see you later sweetheart.” Izzy got up and walked up to Duff and Slash, Slash still staring at the blond until Izzy pulled him towards the bar

“Is that...was that…” Slash asked.

“Whoever you think it is, it’s not,” Izzy laughed. “But what are you two doing here?”

“Well, we were gonna get you to come practice, but I don’t think it’s gonna happen,” Duff told him. “Stevie wants to know if you want to come over for dinner too.”

“You cockblocked me for that?” Izzy asked with a sigh. “Dinner, yes. Practice, not today. Axl’s been an ass to me since...well, you know.” Izzy looked around the bar, and he swore for a second he saw a familiar redhead, but he shook his head. “Come on Duff, dinner sounds good.”

****

Later that night after Izzy and Slash had left, Duff and Stevie were laying in bed, cuddled up next to each other. They were still at the condo, Slash would come by and stay occasionally, but he had moved in with his girlfriend. So it was just Duff and Stevie. The TV was on, and Duff was barely paying attention as he rubbed small circles on Stevie’s belly.

“The doctor said it’ll probably be another month or so before we can feel her moving,” Stevie explained. “Maybe she’ll be a calm baby.” She watched as Duff traced patterns on her stomach.

“She’s half drummer. I highly doubt it,” Duff laughed. “Are you sure you feel up to going on tour with us?”

“Of course,” She nodded. “If I feel sick, I can just stay in the hotel room while you go live the rockstar life.” She shrugged.

“I just want to make sure you and our little girl are okay,” Duff kissed the top of Stevie’s head. “What happens after she’s born?”

“Well, you’ll have a little time off,” Stevie told him. “I thought we could have her in Seattle if we can, and we’ll be in our house. I miss our house.”

“I know baby,” Duff rubbed her belly gently. “When I’m on tour, my mom and siblings said they would help you. I don’t want to leave you, though.” His voice trailed off, causing Stevie looked up at her husband.

“Babe? Are you okay?” She asked. Duff nodded, but she could see the tears in his eyes. She sat up and looked at him. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m going to be a horrible father,” Duff told her. Stevie stared at him.

“Where is this coming from?”

“I...my dad, he was a shit father,” Duff explained. “And his father was a shit father. And I’m sure his was too. I mean, the deck is stacked against me. I’m going to be a shitty dad…”

“Duff McKagan, you stop that right now,” Stevie stared at her husband. “You are not your dad, or your grandfather. You are you, and so far, you’re doing a lot better than any of our parents.”

“I don’t want to fuck up,” He told her, a tear falling down his face. Stevie quickly pulled him to her, holding him close. She rubbed his arms, trying to help him relax and get all those silly notions out of his head.

“You won’t,” She whispered. “Everyone makes mistakes. We’ll do things that will make our little girl hate us, like ground her or set curfews or tell her that she can’t go to a concert at the Whiskey because it’s a school night, but as long as she knows that she’s loved and supported, that’s what matters.” Duff just nodded. “And we’re in this together, no matter what. Even when you get tired of me.” She smiled at him and he returned a snorted laugh.

“I’ve been in love with you for years. I’m not letting you go anytime soon,” Duff kissed her skin gently. He let her hold him as he sang softly into her shoulder, both of them drifting off after a little while.


	20. Chapter 20

The Use Your Illusion tour kicked off with a big bang. And by big bang, it was magazine articles speculating Stevie had been replaced due to drug use, her and Duff were separating, and other things. Which made the already hormonal drummer either extremely angry, or extremely sad. After the latest article that had been shoved in Stevie’s face, she locked herself in the room her and Duff were sharing for one one their Midwest stops.

“Babe, you know how those vultures are,” Duff said through the door. “Come on out Stevie.”

“Why do they always assume the fucking worst?” She asked, opening the door and looking up at Duff. “Can’t they see I’m fucking pregnant, not strung out and obviously not in the process of a divorce?” She had her hands on her belly, like it was going to hide anything. Izzy walked by and smirked.

“Wait until you start showing more,” Izzy snarked. “They’re gonna have a field day with that.”

“Ugh!” Stevie slammed the door shut. Duff turned and glared at the guitarist, who just gave him a sheepish smile.

“Thanks for your help Iz,” He grumbled. Izzy shrugged.

“Anytime man. But we have soundcheck, so let’s go,” Izzy told him. Duff sighed.

“Stevie, baby, I’ll deal with the press,” He told her. “I love you.” He didn’t hear a response, so with a sigh, Duff headed to sound check, planning out how to deal with all the vicious rumors directed at his wife.

****

A few months later, Duff had enough and started telling the press the real reason for Stevie’s departure from the band, that the McKagan’s were expecting their first child. The media ate it up and there was a photoshoot of the expecting couple for Rolling Stone. Geffen finally helped stop the rumors of Stevie being hooked on drugs and being kicked out of the band, and soon everyone was wondering when Stevie was due, what they were having, etc.

“I mean, you didn’t want people calling you a junkie,” Axl pointed out when Stevie complained about people touching her belly and trying to take her picture. Stevie glared at him.

“Yeah, but I didn’t ask them to touch me without my permission,” Stevie sighed. “I should’ve stay in Seattle.”

“I tried to tell you,” Duff whispered under his breath. He just smiled when Stevie glared at him. “Love you sweetie.”

“Okay guys, let’s get over to the arena,” Slash commented. Matt, Dizzy, Axl, Slash, and Izzy were all ready to go. Duff stood up, ready to help Stevie up.

“I think I’m just going to stay here this time,” Stevie told them. She was about 32 weeks along and she was tired.

“Are you feeling okay?” Duff asked, watching her.

“Yeah, I just really don’t want to be in the dressing room all night,” She told him. “The bed here is really comfy. And I don’t have to walk far for food.”

“Okay babe,” Duff kissed her gently. “I’ll be back after the show.”

“Yeah, not like there’s much to do in, where are we again?” Slash asked as they go ready to leave.

“St. Louis,” Izzy supplied. “Bye Stevie.”

“Bye boys,” Stevie waved to them as they all left. She headed back to her and Duff’s room to take a hot shower and relax.

****

The band was backstage, getting ready for their set. Axl looked around, seeing the others, but not seeing Izzy anywhere. 

“Where the fuck is Stradlin?” He asked.

“I think he’s in his dressing room,” Slash told him. “Saw him talking to a guy about a half hour ago or something and then he went in there.” Axl’s eyes darkened as he heard what Slash told him. The door to Izzy’s dressing room opened and he came out, adjusting his clothing.

“What?” Izzy asked.

“We’re waiting on you,” Matt laughed. Izzy shrugged.

“Sorry, I had things to do,” He winked at Duff. A man came out of Izzy’s dressing room a bit later, walking up to the guitarist and giving him a kiss while Axl glared.

“Thanks for everything,” The man laughed. Izzy smirked a little.

“Anytime sweetheart,” He kissed him again before turning back to the band. “If you guys wanna watch, you can come in next time.” They all turned away from Izzy, except for Axl. “What?”

“Nothing.” Axl growled. “You’re gonna catch something.” 

“Just like the crabs you probably got from that chick in Nashville?” Izzy asked with a smirk as he lit his cigarette. Axl glared at him before he stormed off, getting ready to play. Izzy just rolled his eyes and got his guitar.

****

The opening act was great, and the show was running smoothly at first. Until about half way through “Rocket Queen”, when Axl noticed someone video taping the concert. His blood was already boiling from the incident backstage with Izzy, and this just added to his frustration.

“Take that!” Axl kept yelling at security. Duff and Slash looked at each other.

“Someone stop him!” Matt called to Izzy. Duff was about to say something to Axl, but he didn’t have time.

“Fine! I’ll fucking take it!” Axl tossed off his hat and jumped into the audience.

“Holy fuck!” Dizzy looked at the others, not sure if they should keep playing or not. Axl was beating the shit out of the guy, and the others just stood there and watched, not really sure what they were supposed to be doing. The song came to an end when the road crew was able to pull Axl back on stage.

“Thanks to your lame ass security, I’m going home!” Axl snapped, throwing the microphone down.

“He smashed the mic, so we’re out,” Slash said into the mic, making the crowd look at each other in confusion. 

And that was the wrong thing to say.

****

Stevie sat on the bed, staring at the TV with a hand resting on her stomach. There was breaking news flashing across the screen. A riot had broken out at the Riverport Amphitheater during a Guns n’ Roses concert. Stevie sat there, not sure what else she could do but watch the broadcast and hope that Duff, and all her boys, were okay.

That’s when a sharp pain flared through her belly, making her groan. She waited a little bit, thinking that maybe it was just a fluke or something and it would go away. But it came again.

“Fuck,” She groaned. “It’s too early little one.” But the pain kept coming and going, and Stevie knew that if she was going into early labor, she wasn’t have her baby in a fucking Hampton Inn. She scribbled out a note for Duff on the pad of paper that was in the room, and pulled on her shoes and got her purse. She made her way to the lobby when she realized she had no idea where the closest hospital was, and she hadn’t called a cab before she got to the elevator.

So she carefully made her way to the front desk, cringing at the pain and hoping that they could help her.

“Can...can you call me a cab to the nearest hospital?” She asked the girl at the desk.

“Are you okay?” The clerk asked.

“I might be going into labor,” Stevie groaned. “Please I…”

“Excuse me ma’am?” A cop walked up to her and she turned to look at him. Was he here to tell her something had happened to Duff? “There is a riot going on because of a band at the amphitheater. I don’t feel right letting you go in a cab, especially if you are in labor. Let me take you, okay?” Stevie just nodded, saying a silent thank you that he wasn’t there to tell her that her husband was in trouble, and let him held her out to his patrol car, taking her to the hospital.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates will be a little slower because this was the last fully developed chapter I have written.

The boys had escaped the madness, the van they were in pulling up in the back of the hotel late at night. Slash was holding his top hat in his hand, after the driver told him to take it off to avoid detection from pissed off concert goers. No one spoke the entire ride back to the hotel, just exchanging glances and such. But once they were there, shit hit the fan.

“Why the fuck did you jump into the crowd?” Izzy asked.

“Shut the fuck up Stradlin,” Axl growled, lighting up a cigarette.

“You started a fucking riot!” Duff pointed out.

“ _ I  _ didn’t start the riot. The lame-ass security did,” Axl shook his head. “Why don’t you just go fuck your wife or something and leave me alone.”

“Guys, chill,” Matt sighed. “Let’s just go get a drink or something.”

“I’m going to go check on Stevie,” Duff told him, needing some space from Axl for a bit. It seemed that Izzy and Slash did too, because they followed him to the elevator while Dizzy, Matt, and Axl headed to the hotel restaurant and bar.

****

“This was a fucking nightmare,” Axl groaned as they took their seats in the bar area. “I can’t believe this.”

“I mean, their security wasn’t stopping it,” Dizzy pointed out.

“I probably wouldn’t have jumped into the crowd if it wasn’t for fucking Izzy,” Axl snapped.

“You’re kidding, right?” Matt asked. “What did Izzy have to do with the guy videotaping the concert?”

“It’s not because of that,” Dizzy laughed. “It’s because Izzy’s getting laid and it’s not by Axl.”

“Shut the fuck up,” Axl snapped.

“Why does he have you so riled up for?” Matt asked. Axl stared at him for a moment. “Axl?”

“I, uh, he...he’s my best friend and I want what’s best for him,” Axl whispered before taking a drink of his beer. Dizzy and Matt looked at each other, knowing there was something the redhead was leaving unsaid.

****

“Fucking hell,” Izzy shook his head. “What the fuck is Axl’s problem?”

“Lots of anger in a small body?” Slash suggested. “And he’s a redhead.” He left one more thing unsaid, about how the frontman was jealous every time he saw Izzy with someone else. But, he knew it wouldn’t do any good, because Izzy had confessed his feelings to Axl once, and it didn’t exactly go over well.

“I’m getting real tired of his shit,” Izzy sighed. “And he’s at the only fucking bar in the hotel. Guess I could tap into the mini-fridge if I wanted to.” Duff opened the door to his and Stevie’s room while the two guitarists talked. He didn’t see his wife around, but he saw the TV on, a news broadcast about the riot playing, and a note laying on their bed. 

_ Duff, _

_ I don’t know when you’ll see this, but I’m going to the hospital. It might be nothing, or it might be baby time. _

_ Love Stevie _

“Fuck!” Duff ran out of the room, causing Izzy and Slash to halt their conversation and look at him. “Fuck!”

“What’s wrong?” Izzy asked. Slash looked around.

“Where’s Stevie?” He asked. Duff gave him the note as he ran to the elevator. Slash read it real quick.

“Shit!” He looked at Izzy. “Stevie might be in labor. Let’s go!” Izzy nodded and they ran after Duff. They went back to the lobby. Slash decided to be nice and let Axl, Dizzy, and Matt know what was going on while Izzy and Duff went to the front desk.

“My wife,” Duff breathed. “She was going to the hospital to possibly be in labor.”

“Oh! Yes!” The girl nodded. “A very nice policeman escorted her because I guess there was a riot or something.”

“What hospital?” Duff asked. By this time, Slash had come back with the other three band members following him, all three looking worried.

“Uh the closest one is University…”

Duff didn’t even hear anything else she said as he ran out of the hotel. The road crew was loitering around when the band ran out. Thankfully, the van that had brought them back to the hotel was still sitting there.

“Someone fire up this van now!” Duff yelled. “Stevie’s at the hospital! I have to get to her!” The guys all looked at each other before one of them started the vehicle and the band got in. Duff was a nervous wreck as they made their way towards the hospital. Slash put a hand on his shoulder.

“Everything’s gonna be okay man,” Izzy spoke up. 

“I just don’t want to miss it if this baby comes now,” Duff told them. “I won’t forgive myself if I miss it.”

****

“Well, Mrs. McKagan,” The doctor smiled at her. “It seems like you’re suffering from false labor.”

“False labor?” Stevie asked. She had read something about it in one of the books her mom had suggested for her, but she didn’t really think it would actually happen.

“It can be brought on by stress. It’s called Braxton-Hicks, and it is labor without the labor part.” The doctor explained. Stevie nodded as she absorbed all the information.

“Is this going to happen a lot?” Stevie asked.

“As long as you keep the stress to a minimum, the next labor pains you feel should be actual labor,” The doctor laughed. “Outside of that, you’re free to go. Just take it easy, okay?” Stevie nodded and got her things together. She was leaving the room and thinking about how to get back to the hotel as Duff ran into the hospital.

“Stevie!” Duff called out. Stevie stopped and looked up, smiling when she saw her husband. “What’s going on? Are you okay? Is the baby okay?”

“Oh, uh, it was something called Braxton-Hicks,” She told him. “It’s like false labor caused by stress.”

“Stress?” Axl asked. “What do you have to be stressed about?”

“Well, it seems that someone started a riot at the place where my husband,” She nodded towards Duff. “And brother,” She nodded towards Slash. “Were playing.” Her eyes darkened a bit as she stared at Axl. She knew how hot-headed he was.

“Oh, yeah…” Axl looked around, rubbing the back of his neck. “Who did that, huh?”

“Come on,” Duff wrapped an arm around her shoulders, keeping her close to him. “Let’s get back to the hotel. We’ll order room service.”

“You okay?” Izzy asked Stevie as they headed back out to the van.

“Yeah, I’m okay,” She nodded. She let Izzy give her a hug before they all were on their way back to the hotel. It wasn’t a very far drive, and, thankfully, they were going to be staying there until sometime in the afternoon, which gave everyone plenty of time to rest after the events of the night.

The van pulled up at the hotel and they all got out, Duff keeping Stevie at his side as they made their way in. Everyone split up, heading back to their rooms. Slash went with Duff and Stevie though. He wanted to make sure everything was okay, just like her husband did.

“Want some food?” Duff asked Slash as he settled himself in the chair in the room.

“Yeah,” He nodded. He looked over at Stevie, who kicked off her shoes and sat down on the bed, looking over the room service menu. She was tired, and hungry, and just so many things at once that she didn’t even want to try to sort out. “So, what now?”

“I was thinking about that,” Duff spoke up. “I think that when we get ready to leave St. Louis, we should put Stevie on a plane to Seattle.”

“What?” Stevie asked, staring at them.

“That’s a good idea,” Slash agreed.

“Uh, no it's not,” Stevie stood up. She marched over to them. “The doctor said to take it easy. How can I take it easy when I hear about shit like what happened tonight and I have no way of knowing if you two are okay?”

“Stevie,” Duff started.

“Don’t Stevie me!” She growled. “How would you feel if you were back home and I was on tour and you saw a fucking news report about a riot in the same place I was? And you couldn’t call me or anything?”

“But…” Slash tried to interject.

“No. I am staying,” She rubbed at her belly. “Now somebody order me and peanut here food please.” Duff had a smile on his face as he got the menu and ordered room service.


	22. Chapter 22

The rest of the tour seemed to go by without many issues. Baby McKagan stayed pretty quiet, just quietly kicking her mama when she was trying to rest and denying her dad to feel the kicking. Duff thought it was funny, Stevie did not.

“I tell you, she was just kicking like crazy,” Stevie groaned as they arrived at LAX to fly to Seattle, ready to be settled in their home when their sweet girl joined them. Duff’s mom and siblings had been helping to get the nursery ready, communicating with the couple on everything. Stevie was excited to finally see it, and she was ready to have their little lady with them.

“She’s just taking after her mom and being stubborn,” Duff teased, making Stevie glare at him. They finally boarded their plane to head back home. Stevie was anxious to get off the plane and into their home. It wouldn’t be too much longer now.

Stevie’s due date was a week away when they got back to Seattle, and she had really expected the baby to make an appearance any day, but the week came and went and Stevie was getting antsy.

“It’s okay honey,” Marie told her daughter-in-law as they sat on the couch in Stevie and Duff’s living room. “The first one has a tendency to want to stay in.”

“But I’m so miserable,” Stevie groaned. She looked down at her stomach. “I’m huge!” Marie laughed a little.

“You know, spicy food helps induce labor,” She told her. “And so does sex.”

“Sex got me into this in the first place,” Stevie laughed a bit.

“Wait until your on your eighth kid that is a freaking monster,” Marie laughed. Just then, Duff came in with a tea for Stevie, making her laugh at the perfect timing. “Now he’s a grown up monster.”

“I don’t think I want to know,” Duff shook his head and handed his wife the teacup. It was a special blend that one of his sister’s had insisted was a miracle cure for inducing labor. He kissed his wife’s cheek as she took the tea from him.

“Your mom was just giving me some advice on how to get the baby to come out to see us,” She explained, rubbing her stomach. Duff took a seat in a chair and put his feet up.

“Oh yeah?” Duff asked, looking up at the TV to see if there was anything interesting on. “What does she suggest?” Marie and Stevie looked at each other laughing a little bit. Duff took a sip of his drink as he waited on their response.

“Oh, you know, the usual. Spicy food, this tea,” Stevie raised her cup. “Sex.” Duff choked on his drink then and turned to look at the two McKagan women.

“Mom!” Duff gaped.

“Oh honey, how else do you two think that little bun in the oven was made?” Marie asked with a smile. Duff buried his face in his hands while Stevie laughed. “Well, I think I’ve embarrassed my son enough for today. Call me if anything happens, okay?”

“We will,” Stevie smiled at Marie. Marie kissed her cheek and gave Duff a hug before she left. Duff moved over to where Stevie was sitting and wrapped an arm around her.

“You know,” He said, rubbing her arm. “I might know just the thing to get our little princess to join us.” He placed a kiss on her neck.

“Oh?” Stevie asked. “And what’s that?” She smiled at him, ready to go up to their bedroom. Duff gave her the biggest grin.

“I just got a spicy barbecue set and we have some wings and ribs,” Duff told her. Stevie slapped his arm and he laughed.

“You’re an ass,” She told him, shaking her head. He smiled and kissed the top of her head.

“But you love me,” He gently placed a hand on her belly, feeling the baby kick this time.

“Yes I do,” She agreed. “But you’re still an ass.” She smiled at him and let him kiss her.

****

It was two days later and Stevie was walking around their kitchen. They had tried the spicy food, she had been drinking the tea that was supposed to help, and they had had sex so many times that Duff was sure that if Stevie wasn’t already pregnant, she would be.

“I hate this,” Stevie groaned as she made her third or fourth lap around the kitchen. “She doesn’t want to come out.”

“I mean, she’s comfy probably,” Duff shrugged as he leafed through a book to find another way to induce labor. They had picked up a few different books, and Duff was trying to find anything he could to help her.

“Well, mom’s not,” Stevie sighed. The phone rang then. Duff picked it up.

“Hello?” Duff answered.

“Hey man!” Slash responded. Duff sat the phone to conference mode.

“You’re on speaker,” Duff told him. He could hear noise in the background. He raised an eyebrow. “What is that?”

“I wanna talk to Stevie too!” He heard Tommy. Stevie smiled. Slash was hanging out with the terror twins more, which warmed her heart.

“Hi boys,” She laughed. “How’s LA?”

“Warm,” Nikki responded before Tommy could answer. “How are we on baby watch?”

“She’s not coming out,” Stevie groaned. “Maybe if it sounds like we’re having fun, she’ll get jealous and want to join us?”

“I mean, I can do that,” Slash laughed. “But she’s probably scared of Axl’s screeching.”

“Yeah, she probably hears all that shit he’s been talking about Izzy.” Tommy added, followed by a loud noise. “Ow! Why the fuck did you elbow me?”

“What is he saying about Izzy?” Stevie growled. Duff glanced over at her.

“Way to go you idiot,” Nikki sighed. 

“He, uh, Izzy went MIA after we got off the tour. No calls, no visits, nothing. Well, at least nothing to Axl,” Slash explained. “And Axl said he’s probably holed up in one of those freaky clubs of his and he’s gonna end up getting AIDS…” Stevie looked at Duff. She didn’t mind when Axl said things about her, because she would just throw it right back at him. But when she talked about Izzy, Slash, or anyone else in her “family”, it pissed her off to no end. She stormed out of the kitchen. Duff sighed.

“Thanks guys,” He leaned on the counter. “Really helping with the stress and all that.”

“ _ I _ wasn’t going to say anything,” Slash pointed out. Duff heard some shuffling behind him and turned to look at Stevie standing in the doorway.

“Everything okay?” Duff asked.

“We need to go to the hospital,” She told him. “My water just broke.”

“Okay let me just...wait, what?!” Duff exclaimed.

“What’s going on?” Tommy asked. “Everything okay?”

“Stevie’s water just broke! I have to go!” He hung up before anyone could respond.

“The bag’s by the door,” Stevie told him. “We’ll call your mom and my mom at the hospital, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Duff nodded, panicking more than Stevie was. Quickly as he could, he grabbed the bag and helped Stevie out to the car, heading to the hospital.

****

“Did he just say what I think he just said?” Slash asked, looking at Tommy and Nikki. Tommy was bouncing with excitement. 

“I gotta call Vince and Mick. We have gifts!” Tommy told him with a smile on his face. He used his big, blocky cell phone to call them while Slash went to call Izzy, Axl, Matt, and Dizzy. Axl, Matt, and Dizzy didn’t answer, but surprisingly, Izzy did.

“Hello?”

“Hey man, it’s Slash,” Slash responded.

“Oh, I thought you were Stevie,” Izzy told him with a bit of a sigh. “She’s supposed to call me when she goes into labor. As of yesterday, there was no change.”

“Well, there’s been a change in the past twenty minutes,” Slash laughed. “Me and the terror twins were on the phone with her and her water broke. I tried to call the others but we’re gonna head up to Seattle.”

“I’ll get a hold of Matt and Dizzy,” Izzy told him. “We’ll see you up there.”

“Don’t forget Axl,” Nikki added, a shit eating grin on his face. He liked to tease Izzy, but he already had a plan of how to get rid of the frontman if the need arose.

“I’ll get one of the others to do it,” Izzy told him. “I’ll see you guys in Seattle.” Him and Slash hung up before Slash headed home to pack.


	23. Chapter 23

“This hurts,” Stevie groaned. It had been a few hours since her water broke and they had gone to the hospital, But the labor labor, just like her pregnancy, seemed to be moving slow. Duff was right by her side the whole time, despite it feeling like said time was standing still.

“I know baby,” Duff played with her hair. “It’ll be over soon though.” He had just kissed the side of her head when there was a knock on the door and Marie popped her head in.

“Do you want a visitor?” She asked with a sympathetic smile. Stevie motioned for her to come in and immediately hugged her when she got close to the bed. “That bad, huh?”

“Stevie’s having some rough contractions,” Duff explained when Marie sat in the chair by Stevie. Her own mom hadn’t shown up yet, but Stevie could always count on Marie if she ever needed anything.

“Rough is the understatement of the year,” Stevie told them. “It hurts and I want this baby out.”

“I know, but soon you two will have a beautiful baby girl in your arms,” She smiled at them. Stevie groaned as another contraction hit. Duff looked up at his mom. He hated seeing Stevie in pain, but he didn’t know what he could do. “They’ll give her the good stuff soon. It won’t be as bad. How far are you dilated sweetie?”

“Seven,” She whimpered, closing her eyes. “They checked about thirty minutes ago.” She held onto Duff’s hand. Just then, the nice nurse who had been checking on them came in.

“Hi there,” She smiled at them. “How’s everything going?”

“Does it always hurt this much?” Stevie whispered.

“It depends on the woman, but it shouldn’t be too much longer,” She smiled and went to check Stevie. “Well, good news, you’re pretty much at ten.” She looked at Duff and Stevie. “It’ll be time to start pushing soon.”

“I’ll go hold down the fort in the waiting room,” Marie told them, kissing Stevie’s forehead. “It’s all going to be okay.”

****

Hours later, Duff made his way out to the waiting room and was greeted with a sight he did not expect to see. Along with Marie and Deanna Adler were Tommy, Nikki, Mick, Vince, Slash, Izzy, Matt, and Dizzy. Everyone except Axl. Duff raised an eyebrow.

“I couldn’t get a hold of him until we were about to board,” Matt explained with a shrug. “He’s on his way.”

“How is Stevie and the baby?” Tommy piped up, bouncing his knee.

“Come on,” Duff waved for the large party to follow him. They all stood and made their way to the nursery area. There, in one of the little beds with a pink hat on her head, laid Baby McKagan.

“She’s so little,” Dizzy whispered. 

“She was real long and skinny,” Duff chuckled. “She was twenty-two inches long, and about seven pounds.”

“Taking after her dad I see,” Vince teased with a smile.

“Does she have a name?” Mick asked. “Or are we going to be calling her Baby McKagan for awhile?”

“We think we might have a name,” Duff nodded. “You guys stay here and admire her. I’m gonna go see if Stevie’s up for some visitors.” Duff left the group standing there, falling in love with Baby McKagan with each passing second.

****

Everyone was gathered in Stevie’s room a little while later. They all had presents for the mom and baby, and were taking turns getting to hold her. Stevie watched from her bed as they all held her for the first time. She watched Izzy as Duff placed the baby in his arms. A smile spread across his face as he gazed down at the little bundle.

“Mr. Stradlin, is that a smile I see?” Stevie teased.

“Nope, it’s just a muscle spasm that won’t go away, isn't that right my little minion of darkness,” He placed a gentle kiss on the baby’s forehead. Stevie just laughed a little.

“I thought she was my minion of darkness,” Mick said, pretending to be offended.

“We’ll split the time,” Izzy told the other guitarist. Just then, the door opened and Axl came in, looking like he had ran all the way from the airport.

“How the fuck did Motley Crue beat me here?” Axl breathed. Izzy covered the baby’s ears and Tommy stared at Axl.

“Do not say F-U-C-K in front of the B-A-B-Y!” Tommy told him.

“You’re kidding, right?” Axl stared at the drummer. “She’s not gonna be able to remember that!”

“You never know,” Nikki said in a sing-song voice. Axl sighed and shook his head. Why did his band have to be friends with that band? Was he really the only sane one? He looked over at Izzy, who had the baby in his arms and felt his heart melt a bit. Izzy looked so cute holding her.

Wait, what was he thinking?

“Okay, since everyone is here,” Duff told them. “We already told our moms and other family what we named the little princess, but we figured you guys were antsy.” He gently took the baby from Izzy and laid her in Stevie’s arms.

“Guys, meet Hope Bailey McKagan,” Stevie said proudly.

“You...you named her Bailey?” Axl asked, tears filling his eyes.

“We honestly were going to try Rose, but it didn’t flow as well,” Duff told him.

“You okay Red?” Stevie asked. Axl wiped at his eyes.

“It’s just dusty in here,” He told them. Tommy bounced over to Stevie and Hope and smiled at the baby.

“Hi there Hope. I’m your Uncle Tommy. And I’m going to teach you to play drums the cool way,” Tommy told her.

“I don’t think so,” Nikki shook his head. “She’s long, which means she’s gonna be tall. Therefore, she can hold a bass.”

“You’re both wrong,” Vince piped up. “Because I’m sure she has a set of lungs on her. She’s gonna be the best front woman in all of rock and roll, aren’t you?”

“What about a keyboardist?” Dizzy asked, making everyone look at him. “Eh, on second thought, I don’t think so.” The two bands started arguing among themselves at what baby Hope was going to play when she got older. Stevie leaned back in the bed, holding Hope and smiling.

“Well, you guys didn’t think things through like I did,” Izzy said proudly. He motioned to the pile of gifts they all had brought with them. “Duff, go open the one from me.” Duff and Stevie looked at each other before Duff went and opened the two perfectly wrapped packages.

“Oh my god!” Duff laughed. He brought it over for Stevie to see.

A tiny pink guitar, made for a kid, in a case, and a matching little pink amp. Stevie started to cry and everyone got silent.

“It’s so cute!” She motioned for Izzy to come over and with her free arm, she hugged him. Izzy smiled and hugged her back.

“Mom said this will happen,” Duff told them. “Hormones and all that good stuff.” Tommy pushed Izzy away so he could hug Stevie next.

“It’s okay. We’ll still love you even if you try to murder us,” Tommy told her. Stevie started to laugh and cry at the same time, and Nikki smacked Tommy upside the head. “Ow!”

“Stop saying that shit,” Mick told the drummer. Tommy stood up and rubbed the back of his head.


	24. Chapter 24

A couple days later, both Stevie and Hope were cleared to leave the hospital. Everyone was there to make sure that the McKagan family were safe from the prying eyes of the paparazzi. Duff has Hope in her carseat with one hand, holding Stevie’s with the other. They were both ready to get their little princess home.

“Are you guys going to join us at the house?” Stevie asked as Duff buckled Hope into the backseat of the car.

“Can we?” Tommy asked. “I mean, we won’t be bugging you guys, right?”

“I want her to get used to sleeping with noise around, so she’s not waking up over every little thing,” Stevie told them. “And you know we’ve got plenty of room for you guys. Even though you might have to share a little bit more now.”

“We’ll meet you there!” Slash kissed her cheek. “I need to get some things before we come over.”

“I’ll see you boys in a little bit.” She climbed into the back of the car to be by Hope as Duff drove them home. Duff kept looking up in the rearview mirror. Hope was asleep and Stevie was watching her with a smile on her face.

And Duff had never been more in love with her than he was in that moment.

****

About an hour after the McKagan’s had gotten home, their large family showed up with even more presents, and Slash even had a couple bottles of champagne to celebrate. Flutes were poured, and everyone took turns gushing over Hope. When she opened her eyes and looked at them with the deep blue, Stevie was sure that all the men in the room just melted.

“She’s so pretty!” Tommy looked over at Stevie and Duff, cuddled in a chair.

“She obviously gets it from her mom,” Slash teased, making Duff flip him off.

“Looks like she’ll probably have Duff’s hair though,” Nikki pointed out. “She’s got a lot of dark hair.”

“That doesn’t mean anything,” Mick grumbled. “Babies lose their hair and shit. But who knows?”

“Wait, you’re not blond?” Tommy asked, staring at Duff. “I’ve never seen you with anything but blond hair!”

“I’ve dyed it all my life,” Duff laughed. “Stevie’s natural. Me? Not so much.” He ran his fingers through his wife’s hair. As he gently brushed her hair, Stevie’s eyes started to go heavy.

“I think someone’s tired,” Vince pointed out. Izzy looked up at her and smiled. Stevie had her head resting on Duff’s shoulder, eyes closed. Duff smiled and gently picked her up.

“Will you guys watch Hope?” He asked. “I’ll be right back.” He picked Stevie up, who buried herself into his chest, and carried her to their bedroom. She woke up some as Duff gently laid her down.

“What?” She asked, a little confused. Duff chuckled.

“Get some sleep babe,” Duff told her, brushing her hair back. “I have a feeling once Hope’s uncles all go home, we won’t be getting much sleep.” She smiled at him. “I love you so much Stevie.” He gently kissed her.

“I love you too,” She let herself fall back asleep. Duff watched over her for a bit before heading back to the living room where the guys were watching Hope. Well, Tommy was currently holding her.

“She’s so cute!” He told Nikki. “I want one.”

“Yeah, no,” Mick shook his head. Nikki looked up at Duff as he joined them.

“Hey dude, watch this,” Nikki took Hope from Tommy and held her by Axl, where she started to cry.

“Cut that out!” Axl glared at the bassist.

“Hey, don’t yell at her. She’s just a baby man,” Vince laughed, shaking his head. Nikki handed Hope over to Izzy, where she stopped crying once she was cradled in his arms.

“Okay, so are we just going to pass the baby around all night or what?” Duff asked. Slash yawned then.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m tired,” He told them. There was a murmur among the boys and soon, they headed to their respective rooms.

But sometime in the night, Slash woke up and headed to Hope’s nursery, just to check up on his little niece. He was shocked to find Tommy in there, sitting in the rocking chair, reading a book.

“What are you doing?” Slash whispered, making Tommy jump.

“Shit man,” He sighed. “I got up to take a piss and I heard her starting to cry. I got her calmed down before she woke Stevie and Duff up.”

“You know, we’re gonna spoil them and then go home,” Slash chuckled, sitting in the second chair they had put in there.

“Who says we have to leave?” Tommy asked.

“We can’t live in Seattle man,” Slash shook his head. “And Nikki’s not gonna let you go.” Hope started to make noises then and Slash was about to pick her up to rock her when the door opened and Stevie came in.

“Uh, what are you guys doing in here?” She asked, looking at the two before she went to pick Hope up.

“I couldn’t sleep,” Tommy admitted.

“Me neither,” Slash added.

“And I wanted to let you sleep as much as you can…” Tommy looked down. Stevie’s eyes softened.

“T, I really appreciate it,” Stevie told him. “But you don’t have to. I’m going to have to get used to being a parent somehow.” She kissed his cheek. “But thank you.”

“Anything for you Rocket Queen,” Tommy smiled at her. Stevie groaned.

“That nickname is never going away, is it?” Stevie asked.

“Nope, never!” Tommy beamed.

“Well, I’m going to go feed the little princess,” Stevie told him. “Thanks for trying to help boys.” She kissed Slash’s cheek before taking Hope downstairs to the kitchen to get her bottle.

****

The next morning, Duff was woke up to Tommy and Izzy in the kitchen, cooking breakfast for everyone while Nikki watched over Hope and they all forced Stevie to go get a shower.

“Are you sure we should trust Tommy with a stove?” Slash asked from his spot in the oversized comfy chair, that he had taken mainly to piss Axl off.

“Tommy’s actually a great cook,” Vince told him. “Even though, I think he lied about making homemade chicken noodle soup that time the three of us got sick. I swear I saw Campbell’s cans.”

“I swear on my yia-yia that I made that from scratch!” Tommy called from the kitchen. “And Izzy here’s pretty good at cooking.”

“Lot’s of time cooking for my little brother and myself,” Izzy shrugged. “Nothing fancy.” Stevie came out of the shower about the time that everyone was done cooking. She immediately went to Hope, who was sleeping peacefully despite all the noise. She looked out over the boys, who were chowing down on the food and talking amongst themselves. She was happy, but there was something deep inside that felt off.

But she plastered a smile on her face and went to her boys.


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer, I am not a doctor and everything I'm getting is from Google.

The boys slowly started to leave the next day. Duff could tell that they didn’t want to leave, but he insisted they all get a little break before going back to the tour. Slash was the last one to leave, per Stevie’s request. She waited until everyone was gone before her and Duff sat down with him.

“So, we wanted to talk to you when everyone was gone,” Stevie told him. “We wanted to ask you to be Hope’s godfather.”

“Me?” Slash asked. “Are you sure you don’t want Izzy or Mick or someone?”

“You’re our family,” Duff told him. “Our closest family that isn’t blood, you know? So, we wanted to ask you.” Slash wiped at his eyes.

“I, yes. I would love to be her godfather,” He had a big smile on his face.

“Do you want to hold her?” Duff asked. Slash just nodded. Stevie gently placed her daughter in Slash’s arms. She looked up at him with her big, blue eyes.

“Hey there sweetie,” Slash told her. “I’m going to spoil the everloving crap out of you.”

“I think a lot of people are doing that,” Duff laughed. Slash noticed Stevie hadn’t talked much and looked up at her.

“Are you okay?” He asked her. Duff looked over, worry evident on his face.

“I’m great,” She told them. “I’m perfectly fine.” The two shared a look. They had lived with her long enough to know when something wasn’t right, but they didn’t want to push it too much.

Instead, they just turned their attention to Hope.

****

It was days after everyone left and Stevie was starting to feel a little overwhelmed. She had done good the first couple days of being able to catch what Hope was upset about, but now she wasn’t sure if it was a dirty diaper, hungry, tired, Princess Peach looking at her weird, or all of the above. 

“Just breathe,” Marie told her when she came over to visit. Duff was with Hope, and the two women were in the kitchen.

“I’m failing as a mom,” Stevie told her, holding her head in her hands. “How am I supposed to do this for the next how many years? How am I supposed to be a good mom?”

“No one is born a good mom, and even those bitches that say they are, they had help,” Marie told her, rubbing her back. “It’s okay for her to cry. It gives you a minute to take a breath and figure out what is going on. And take advantage of your husband wanting to help you.”

“But what do I do when he’s on tour?” Stevie asked. “How am I supposed to know what she wants, when she wants it?”

“You have me,” Marie told her. “And you have all of Duff’s siblings that are still around Seattle. I’m sure that your mom would come up here if you need her to. And you have a large family that will help whenever you need it.”

“But half of them will be out on tour with Duff,” she told her. “And I can’t keep asking Tommy, Nikki, Mick, and Vince to drop everything and come to Seattle every time I feel a little overwhelmed.” Marie wrapped her arms around her daughter-in-law.

“Just breathe,” She told her again. “In through your nose, out through your mouth. Let your muscles relax.” She knew exactly how Stevie was feeling. The tears were all too familiar.

“What am I supposed to do?” Stevie asked.

“Go take a nap,” Marie told her. “Then when you wake up, take a hot bath. Duff and I can take care of Hope. You need to take care of yourself.”

“But…”

“No buts. Go.” She put her hands on her hips and Stevie sighed and headed up to her and Duff’s room. A few minutes later, Duff came from Hope’s nursery.

“Dirty diaper done, baby happy,” Duff laughed. “Where’s Stevie?”

“Honey, I need you to watch her,” Marie told him. “I’m afraid the baby blues are going to turn into something worse.”

“What do you mean? What’s going on?” Duff asked.

“Postpartum depression is a very common thing that women go through,” Marie explained. “And if it’s left untreated, it can get really bad. And I’d hate for you to go out on tour and come back to no wife.” She saw Duff pale.

“I, oh god. Mom, what do I do?”

“You’re already doing really good, being a good dad to Hope,” Marie told him. “Stevie’s going to take a nap right now. Maybe run to the store and get her the things for a spa? Or I can go.” Duff ran a hand down his face. He had read about this in those books they had gotten, but he hadn’t thought any about it. Stevie was always so happy.

Marie seemed to sense what was going through her son's head.

“I’ll be right back,” Marie told him. “Just let her sleep. When Hope goes for her first doctor’s appointment, maybe suggest that Stevie talks to hers too about some meds to help balance her out.”

“What do I say? Hey babe, Hope has her doctor’s appointment and you should make one too because your mood is a drag?”

“Well, maybe not that harsh,” Marie shook her head. “I’ll be back.” She left to head to the store. Duff sighed and headed up to his and Stevie’s room. He heard soft crying, and he knew that it wasn’t Hope’s. Vince was right, she had a set of lungs on her, and these were muted cries. Duff carefully pushed the door open and headed inside.

“Stevie?” Duff asked gently.

“S-sorry,” She whispered. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

“Hey, there’s nothing wrong with you,” Duff crawled into bed by her and pulled her to him. “Why do you think there’s something wrong with you?”

“Because I keep crying all the time, and I don’t even want to hold Hope right now. And I am just failing as a mother…” She started to cry again. Duff rubbed her back gently.

“You’re not failing,” Duff told her. “Neither of us have ever been through this before. We’re not supposed to know what we’re doing. It’ll take some time.”

“But I don’t even know what she needs when she’s crying!” Stevie told him.

“It’s okay. We won’t always know what she needs when she’s crying. We won’t always be able to give her everything. But we’re trying, and that’s all that matters.”

“That’s not really making me feel any better,” Stevie admitted. Duff kissed the top of her head.

“I read something about this,” Duff told her. “There’s a thing called the baby blues, and it can last up to a week or so after having a baby. But sometimes that can become postpartum depression.”

“Depression?” Stevie asked. “But...really?”

“Yeah. And it’s nothing to be ashamed of,” Duff told her. “We’ll just set you up a doctors appointment to get you something to help, if that proves to be the case. I just don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“I’m sorry,” She whispered. Duff pulled her closer to his chest. “Your mom said that it won’t hurt Hope to cry.”

“It won’t,” Duff told her. “Sometimes, it could just be her releasing some stress. You know how like we’d be on tour and you’d get so pissed off at Axl you’d just scream?” Stevie laughed a little. “Ah, there we go.”

“You still love me, right?” Stevie asked after a couple moments.

“More than anything in this world,” Duff told her. “You’ve always been my girl, even when you weren’t.” Stevie started to laugh. “What?”

“I know you were trying to be romantic, but that honestly sounded a little scary,” Stevie teased. Duff smiled.

“Just get some sleep,” He told her. “I’ll listen for Hope.”

“Okay,” Stevie yawned and let her eyes close. Duff stayed alert, getting up to check on Hope the couple times she cried. Marie had come back with things to help cheer Stevie up and saw Duff warming Hope’s bottle.

“I talked to Stevie,” He told his mom. “I just told her what I had read and what you told me. She agreed to talk to the doctor.”

“That’s good,” She handed Duff the bag of things she had picked up for Stevie. “I’m so glad you two found each other.”

“You have no idea how glad I am,” Duff smiled at his mom. “I’m gonna go give Hope her bottle. I told Stevie to just rest.”

“You’re a good man. I raised you right,” Marie hugged her son before he took the bottle to feed Hope. Princess Peach sat at her feet. She scratched his ears. “You’ve got some good parents sir.”

****

Hope’s first doctor’s appointment came up a day or so later. The uncles all made Duff and Stevie promise to tell them how it went, since they weren’t there for it. Stevie just laughed a little.

“Oh my god, they’re worse than a grandparent,” Stevie told Duff. “You’d think they were the ones who were in labor with her for hours.”

“They’re just protective. Just like they were with you,” Duff told her. “I feel confident in knowing that Hope is safe as long as her uncles are watching out for her.”

Hope’s pediatrician looked her over with a smile. She was growing just right, eating just right. All and all, she was the perfect little baby.

That afternoon, Stevie had a doctor’s appointment. Duff stayed home with Hope, despite wanting to be there for his wife. While she was at the doctor, he took the role of calling all of Hope’s uncles to tell them how her appointment had gone.

He had just gotten off the phone with Tommy and Nikki when Stevie came home with a couple bags of groceries and a pharmacy bag. Duff checked on Hope before meeting Stevie in the kitchen as she put the groceries away.

“How’d it go?” Duff asked, taking some of the dry goods to put in the pantry for her.

“Dr. Bradford went ahead and put me on an antidepressant, to hopefully combat whatever is going on,” Stevie explained. “She wants me to just keep an eye on myself, and if I feel worse, to let her know.” Duff wrapped his arms around Stevie and kissed her temple.

“Well, everyone was super excited for Hope’s update,” Duff told her. “I can’t believe she’s already a week old.” Stevie smiled at him and kissed his cheek before she got to work making dinner.

****

Over the course of the next few weeks, Hope was starting to grow like a weed. Stevie was normally the one that would be up with her early in the morning, but Duff tried to help as much as he could. Stevie had already been up with Hope for hours trying to sooth her. She gave her her bottle, changed her diaper, and had finally gotten her calm before she went to sleep.

That lasted about twenty minutes.

“I’ll get her,” Duff told Stevie when she started to get up. “I’m up anyway.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. Just rest honey,” He kissed her cheek before going to Hope’s nursery. He picked her up and cradled her in his arms. “Okay princess, what’s wrong?” The large tears were falling down her face. Duff decided to try something. He wasn’t sure if it would work or not. So he turned down the lullaby music that was playing and he started to sing.

_ Talk to me softly, there's something in your eyes _

_ Don't hang your head in sorrow and please don't cry _

_ I know how you feel inside, I've, I've been there before _

_ Something is changing inside you and don't you know? _

_ Don't you cry tonight, I still love you, baby _

_ And don't you cry tonight _

_ Don't you cry tonight, there's a heaven above you, baby _

_ And don't you cry tonight _

Hope calmed some at the sound of Duff’s voice. He smiled and settled in the rocking chair, holding her close as he rocked and sang. Duff had no idea that she would even like his singing, and this specific song just seemed to fit the mood.

_ Give me a whisper and give me a sigh _

_ Give me a kiss before you tell me goodbye _

_ Don't you take it so hard now and please don't take it so bad _

_ I'll still be thinking of you and the times we had, baby _

_ Don't you cry tonight, I still love you, baby _

_ And don't you cry tonight _

_ Don't you cry tonight, there's a heaven above you, baby _

_ And don't you cry tonight _

Stevie hadn’t been able to go back to sleep. So she made her way to the nursery where she heard Duff singing. With a smile, she stood in the doorway, listening. She loved when Duff would sing, and he had been doing it more and more, but still didn’t feel confident to do a whole song for an album yet.

_ And please remember that I never lied, oh _

_ And please remember how I felt inside now, honey _

_ You got to make it your own way but you'll be alright now, sugar _

_ You'll feel better tomorrow, come the morning light now, baby _

_ And don't you cry tonight _

_ Don't you cry tonight _

_ Don't you cry tonight, there's a heaven above you, baby _

_ And don't you cry _

_ Don't you ever cry _

_ Don't you cry tonight, baby, maybe someday _

_ Don't you cry, don't you ever cry _

_ Don't you cry tonight _

Duff looked down to see that Hope was fast asleep. He quietly laid her back in her bed and tiptoed out of her room without waking her up. He almost ran into Stevie, who was standing out in the hallway, listening to everything. She had a smile on her face as she looked up at her husband.

“What are you doing up?” Duff whispered as they headed back to their room.

“I couldn’t get back to sleep after you left,” She admitted. “That was so pretty.”

“You’re just saying that because you’re my wife,” He chuckled. Stevie shook her head.

“You really should sing more,” Stevie told him. “And I know you’ve been working on songs. Why don’t you make a solo album sometime?”

“I’ve thought about it,” Duff shrugged. “But I might see about making something specifically for the little green sprout.” Stevie smiled and cuddled into him.

“You should make one for me too,” She told him. “So I can hear your voice whenever you’re away.”

“I won’t be gone forever babe,” Duff told her. “But damn, I’m going to miss you both.” Stevie felt tears in her eyes as she rested her head on Duff’s chest and let herself drift back off to sleep.


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Justcallmebaby for writing my smut for me :)

Break time was over. It had been about three months since Hope was born and the guys had to get back out on the road. Duff didn’t want to. He was flying down to LA to meet up with them to do some rehearsing before they headed out. Stevie and Hope took Duff to the airport.

“I don’t want to go,” Duff sighed. “Think we could con Nikki into going to play with them or something?”

“You know he won’t go anywhere without his Tommy,” Stevie laughed a little. “But we’ll be waiting here for you to get back.” Duff leaned in and kissed Stevie.

“I’ll call as often as I can,” He told her. “And you little missy,” He looked down at Hope in her carseat. “Don’t grow anymore until I get back, you here?”

“I will try, but she’s already growing so much,” Stevie sighed. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” He sat his bags down and kissed her. When he pulled back, he stared into her eyes. “This is the first time in a long time that we haven’t been together at least once a day.”

“Don’t remind me,” Stevie sighed. “Just a few months…”

“Yeah,” Duff sighed. His flight was called then.

“You better get going,” Stevie frowned. Duff wrapped his arms around her.

“I’ll be back before you know it,” He kissed the top of her head. “I love you.” He looked down at Hope in her carrier. “And I love you too my little princess.” With one final look at this family, Duff got on the plane to fly to LA, leaving Stevie and Hope behind for the first time.

****

One Month Later

Duff was asleep in his bunk on the bus. Slash was on his own, reading a book. Duff hadn’t been sleeping very well the past few weeks, and he hadn’t had time to call Stevie in awhile. Just a couple five minute conversations to say hi and I love you before Stevie had to go take care of Hope.

By the time the shows were over, Duff didn’t want to call, because Hope was starting to wake up less in the night and staying awake more through the day, and he didn’t want to wake her up if she was sleeping. Photoshoots, concerts, interviews. They all limited the amount of time the McKagan’s got to talk to each other, and Slash could tell that it was really bothering Duff.

“No,” He heard Duff mumble in his sleep. “No!”

“Duff,” Slash marked his spot in his book and got out of his bunk. “Duff!”

“Shit!” Duff opened his eyes and sat up, hitting his head on the bunk on top of his. “Oh fuck!”

“Are you okay?” Slash asked.

“Well, my head hurts now.” Duff told him.

“I mean, you were pretty upset about whatever you were dreaming of,” Slash pointed out. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing. Just a bad dream,” Duff ran a hand down his face. Slash frowned. “When are we stopping for the photoshoot?”

“In an hour,” Slash told him. “Then it’s another day of driving to get to the next town.”

“Damn,” Duff sighed. “Let’s just get this over with then.”

****

Duff’s solo photos were last, with the full band going first and everyone taking turns doing solos and duos. Izzy didn’t want to do a duo with Axl, and it was a whole big thing that ended with Duff negotiating with the photographer to put the three of them together, if they were going to insist on Izzy and Axl getting photographed together. Slash slipped way, heading to the payphone in the lobby. He dialed a number and waited.

“Hello?” Stevie answered. Slash’s face lit up.

“How are my two favorite girls doing?” Slash asked.

“Oh, you know,” Stevie laughed. “Is everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine,” Slash told her. “I just have a lovesick bassist who really misses his wife and kid, and can’t talk to them as much as he’d like to.”

“I miss him so much,” Stevie sighed. Slash nodded, even though she couldn’t see him.

“What if you and Hope fly out to our next stop and join us for awhile?” Slash suggested. “I’m sure Duff would be more than happy to have you two here with him.”

“I was honestly just thinking of that,” Stevie smiled. “Denver is your next stop, right?”

“Yep,” Slash nodded. “If you can be there, we’ll come meet you.”

“Let me call Marie and see if I can leave Princess Peach with her, and I’ll see about getting a ticket and let you know.”

“Great. We’ll be here for another hour or so,” Slash read off the number to the payphone that he was at. After a couple more minutes of talking they hung up. About a half hour later, Izzy was standing by the payphone when it rang. Raising an eyebrow, he answered.

“Uh, hello?”

“Iz!” Stevie laughed. “Hey, I was trying to catch Slash. He gave me this number.”

“Oh, hey Stevie. Give me a second,” Izzy motioned for Slash to come over. “Stevie?”

“Oh!” Slash took the phone from Izzy. “So?”

“Marie has Princess Peach, and Hope and I should be in Denver tomorrow afternoon,” Stevie told Slash proudly. Slash’s face lit up.

“That’s great! I’m going to keep it a surprise. But damn, he misses you,” Slash laughed.

“I miss him too,” Stevie admitted. “Okay, we’ll see you tomorrow!” They both hung up and Slash looked over at Izzy.

“Does Duff miss Stevie, or do you miss her?” Izzy laughed.

“Duff misses her,” Slash told him. “Thought he was going to knock himself out this morning because he had a bad dream and jerked awake. Smacked his head on the bunk above his.”

“Well, fair enough,” Izzy laughed a little. “Duff’ll be done soon and we can head out.”

“Good,” Slash nodded. “I can’t wait for those two to get back together. Maybe he’ll stop being so miserable.” He laughed and Izzy returned the smile.

****

“I’ve tried calling Stevie three times and she hasn’t answered,” Duff told Slash later on, when they had gotten to Denver.

“Maybe she’s out with your mom or something?” Slash shrugged. “Oh, speaking of mom’s, mine is coming in for the show. I told her I’d meet her at the airport and I want you to go with me.”

“Oh, come on man,” Duff groaned. “Ola hates me. She thinks I “stole Stevie from you” or something like that.”

“I mean, she did settle,” Slash teased. “Come on. My mom doesn’t hate you. She’s just...eccentric.”

“She called me Giraffe Boy up until a couple months ago, and that’s only because Ash told her to chill!”

“Just come with me man. I’d rather you get out for a little bit then sitting here, wondering why your wife isn’t answering.” Duff sighed.

“Fine,” Duff rolled his eyes. “Don’t say I’ve never done anything for you.”

****

Later that afternoon, Duff and Slash got a cab from their hotel to the airport. Duff was wearing shorts, cowboy boots, a tank top, and a cowboy hat. He figured that if Ola Hudson was going to make fun of him, he was going to give her a reason to. Slash just shook his head.

“You look ridiculous,” Slash told him.

“Says the guy wearing a tank top and so many holes in his jeans, I don’t think they can even be called pants anymore.”

Before Slash could come back with something, an announcement over the loudspeaker made Duff homesick.

“Flight 92 from Seattle now arriving at gate 15a.”

“God, I miss Seattle,” Duff sighed. “Mainly, I miss my family.”

“You’ll get to see them before you know it,” Slash smiled and glanced towards the gate that Stevie and Hope would be coming through. “Hey, I see my mom. Come on.” Slash dragged Duff towards the gate.

“Dude, I…” Duff trailed off when he saw a familiar pair of blue eyes looking at him, and they sure as hell didn’t belong to Ola Hudson. “S-Stevie?”

“Duff!” She ran towards him. Slash took Hope so Duff could easily wrap his arms around his wife, holding her close. He buried his face in her hair, just enjoying the fact that she was here.

“What are you guys doing here?” He asked, pulling back after a moment.

“Hope and I really missed you,” Stevie told him. “And I thought we could enjoy some time together.” Duff hugged her again.

“God, I did miss you both,” He looked around. “Where’s my little princess?”

“With Uncle Slash,” Stevie laughed.

“Excuse me. It’s Godfather Slash,” Slash chuckled. Duff kept an arm wrapped around Stevie as he walked over to Slash.

“I’ve gotta go pick up luggage,” Stevie told Duff. “I brought enough in case you wanted us to stay awhile. And I can pick up more along the way. If you want us.”

“You have no idea,” Duff kissed her cheek before Stevie went to go grab luggage. Duff took Hope from Slash. She had her eyes open and smiled when she saw Duff. “She looks so much like Stevie.”

“She’d be her twin if she had her hair,” Slash agreed. “She’s gotten so big.”

“I know. I told her she wasn’t allowed to grow but apparently she doesn’t listen to me,” Duff laughed. 

“I bet that’s a sign of what’s to come,” Slash smirked. Stevie made her way over to them with the bags.

“Why don’t I trade you?” Duff suggested, giving Stevie Hope and taking some bags while Slash grabbed the others. They headed out to the car that they needed to get back to the hotel. “Hey Slash?”

“What?” The guitarist asked from his seat.

“I need you to take some of your godfather duties,” He told him.

“What do you mean? Isn’t that only for if you two die?” Slash asked.

“Can you please watch Hope for a little bit?” Duff asked. “I want to spend some time with my wife.” Stevie laughed a little, her cheeks pink.

“Oh!” Slash laughed. “Of course I’ll watch her. Just for like ten minutes?” Duff slapped the back of his head.

“God, he’s as bad as Tommy,” Stevie couldn’t stop smiling.

It was good to be back with her boys.

****

Stevie handed Slash the bag of baby things and Hope before following Duff into his room with her luggage. She tossed it on the floor by Duff’s bags as her husband shut and locked the door. She smiled as she felt his long arms wrap around her waist and his lips on her neck.

“God, I missed you,” He whispered, nipping a little at the sensitive skin.

“Did you now?” She asked with a laugh. Duff pressed against her.

“Yes. Yes I did,” He mumbled. “Thought I’d have to sneak away to get on a plane and come see you again.”

“It hasn’t been that long babe,” Stevie moaned softly.

“It’s been too long,” Duff slowly pulled her back towards the bed. “And you’re wearing way too many clothes.” He pulled her shirt off and kissed at her shoulders. Stevie moaned softly. 

“Missed you.” 

Duff worked on stripping Stevie and laying her out on the bed. Stevie looked up at Duff through her lashes. 

"You have too many clothes on cowboy.” She watched him undress, hair haloed around her head. Duff crawled over her and drew her into a deep kiss, before kissing down her neck to her breasts rolling her nipples with his fingers before sucking one then the other into his mouth. Stevie tangled her fingers in his hair, moaning and pushing her chest toward his mouth. 

Duff's hand trailed down her body, running one digit along her slit, feeling her arch and moan under him. Taking pity, he circled her clit with his finger making her legs quiver before thrusting two fingers into her. Stevie gasped at the stretch, grinding down onto them. Duff used his thumb to circle her clit while stroking her g-spot. It didn't take long until Stevie was clenching on his fingers and coming with his name on her lips. 

Duff leaned up to kiss her while she's coming down. Stevie pushed on Duff's shoulder, urging him onto his back, which he did. Stevie wasted no time swallowing his rock hard cock down, making Duff gasp. 

"Holy shit, Stevie,” Stevie looked up at him. 

"Hmmm?" She mumbled around him. Duff's head fell back on the pillow. 

"Gonna kill me with that mouth, girlie…” Stevie pulled back and smiled at Duff before climbing over him and lining him up. "Wai...." Duff started as Stevie started sliding down over him. 

"Been waiting, don't want to wait any longer." 

Stevie threw her head back and moaned as she came to a seat on Duff's thighs. Duff ran his hands up her legs to her waist, urging her to start moving. Stevie started moving, finding the right angle to make her come and riding him for her pleasure. All Duff could do was hang on, while Stevie used him for her pleasure. He loved watching her bounce on him, eyes closed, sweat dripping, as she found her pleasure and clenched and came over and over. She was beautiful like this, panting, calling his name. He could feel her slowing, so he used this opportunity to plant his feet and held her up while thrusting into her over and over, seeking his pleasure. He looked up from their coupling and locked eyes with Stevie.

"Fuck Stevie babe, so good, gonna come,”

"Come on, Duff, come with me...uh....uh..... now!" Stevie moaned, clenching on him one last time sending him over the edge. Stevie slumped over on his chest panting. "<aybe I should make you miss me more.” Duff kissed the top of her head. 

"Don't you dare.” 

****

“Izzy!” Slash hit Izzy’s door. “Izzy!”

“What?” Izzy asked, opening the door. “Wait, why do you have a baby?”

“It’s Hope!” Slash told him. “And Duff and Stevie asked me to watch her for a bit and I don’t know shit about babies man!” Hope made little baby noises from her car seat and reached towards Izzy.

“Hold on,” Izzy snuffed out his cigarette. “Let’s take her to the lounge. We’ll put on some cartoons or something and it’ll be easier to watch her.”

“What do kids watch?” Slash asked. “Like Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers?”

“I don’t care what you watch with her, as long as it’s not the adult channels,” Izzy told him. “Come on.” He grabbed his guitar and shut the door, heading with Slash to the lounge. “Let’s get her out of her carseat.”

“What if she runs away?” Slash asked. Izzy stared at him.

“Dude, she’s like four months old,” Izzy sighed. “I bet she’s just picking her head up. Let me see what Stevie left you.” He took the bag from Slash’s shoulder as Slash got Hope out of her carseat. “Ah, mommy brought you your play mat.” Izzy smiled and laid it down on the ground. He found a pillow with the mat that looked like a doughnut with a bite out of it. He laid it down and looked up at Slash, holding the squirmy baby like he was scared.

“You hold snakes on a regular basis,” Izzy pointed out, taking Hope and laying her with her head supported by the pillow. He gave her a cloth book and she made an excited baby noise.

“Baby’s are different,” Slash admitted. He turned on the TV to find something to watch. “How come you know so much about babies?”

“When Stevie got pregnant, I started reading,” Izzy shrugged. “I wanted to help out in case something happened and Duff bailed or some shit.”

“Oh. Well I’m glad you know what you’re doing because I sure as hell don’t,” Slash sighed and laid the remote down, looking from Hope to the TV and back. Hope was intrigued by all the bright colors.

“She’s a pretty easy baby,” Izzy shrugged. “She likes it when I sing to her.”

“When did you have time to sing to her?” Slash asked.

“Well, right before we started back, Stevie and Duff wanted a night out and no one would watch her and Motley Crue’s on tour, because Tommy was pissed he couldn’t come watch her. So I went up to Seattle and stayed a couple days. She likes being sung to, don’t you sweetheart?” Hope laughed and smiled a gummy smile up at Izzy.

“You gonna get you one?” Slash asked, making Izzy raise an eyebrow. “A baby, I mean.”

“Nah. I’m having fun being Uncle Izzy. When she gets older, I can give her one of those big ass Hershey bars, you know the ones they have a Christmas, and then wait for it to set in before I send her back home to Duff and Stevie.”

“God you’re evil,” Slash chuckled. Axl walked in then.

“Who’s evil?” He asked. That’s when there was a loud wailing from the floor. “When the fuck did Hope get here?” He sighed. Izzy picked her up and rocked her some. “Why doesn’t she like me?”

“You’re loud?” Slash asked with a shrug. Axl glared at him.

“Wait, I have an idea,” Izzy smiled. “Axl, take off your bandana.”

“What? No.” Axl shook his head.

“Just humor me,” Izzy rolled his eyes. Axl sighed and pulled the bandana off, running his fingers through his hair. “Okay, now cradle your arms.” Axl did and Izzy put Hope in his arms.

And there was no crying.

“Well I’ll be damn,” Slash laughed.

“She was scared of my bandana?” Axl asked, confused.

“She’s learning the world and mommy and daddy don’t have that, so it must be scary,” Izzy smiled at her.

“Well, she’ll hate Bret Michaels then,” Slash laughed again. Izzy shook his head and watched Axl with Hope. “Great, she likes him now, so none of us will get to spend any time with her.”

“Oh, I’m sure he won’t hog her all the time.” Izzy kept smiling.

For the first time in awhile, there was peace in the band. But Izzy had a feeling in his gut that it wouldn’t last.

****

The tour went on for the next couple months. Every time Stevie would say it was time for her and Hope to head back to Seattle, someone, mainly Duff, would convince her to stay for a little while longer. So the two did. Hope loved getting to see her uncles more often, and Stevie loved getting to spend more time with her husband. They decided that after the second to last concert, the two would fly back to Seattle, so Stevie could get groceries, pick up Princess Peach, and other things she needed to do before Duff got home.

So they were in Buffalo, with the last concert slated to be in New York City. Everyone was getting ready for the concert, but Duff kept taking breaks to play with Hope. She liked to play guitar with her uncles Izzy and Slash, which basically consisted of letting her hit the strings while they made the chords.

“She loves watching you guys practice,” Stevie said, adjusting the headphones that muffled a lot of the loud noises. “And she loves watching you play. It’s a lot better during practice now that she’s not screaming to compete with Axl.”

“Hey! I don’t scream!” Axl told her. “You guys are assholes.”

“Hope is going to have the most colorful vocabulary of all her peers,” Matt laughed. “All thanks to uncle Axl.”

“I dunno. Her dad says a lot of very colorful words too,” Stevie kissed Duff’s cheek. Hope started to cry then and Stevie looked at the time. “Oh, it’s someone's nap time.”

“Thank god, I was so tired,” Slash smirked. “Oh, you meant Hope. Okay…” Stevie took Hope from Izzy.

“We’ll be at the hotel. I’ll see you guys this evening for the concert.” She gave Duff a kiss before taking Hope to the room to nap. The boys returned to their practicing, kinda missing the audience to watch them.


	27. Chapter 27

The concert was going great. Hope was loving it, even though Stevie could tell that she was getting tired. But tomorrow, they would be heading back to Seattle while the boys headed on to their last stop, so Stevie wanted to make the most of it. They had made it through some of the rougher songs, Izzy singing the few that he was allowed to, before it came time for one of their slower songs.

Lighters were up and shining as they broke into “Patience”. The tour was almost done and they’d be heading back home before they knew it. Axl knew they’d all scatter until Geffen set up another tour. Axl closed his eyes as he listened to the drum part Stevie had helped Matt set up, and he started singing through the song like it was second nature.

Until he came to a line, that any other time didn’t do anything to him, but today, it seemed to trigger a memory.

“I sit here on the stairs 'cause I'd rather be alone

If I can't have you right now, I'll wait, dear”

_ Axl had just parked and was heading towards the apartment when he saw Izzy sitting on the stairs of their apartment. Izzy was scribbling into a notebook, working on a song. They hadn’t quite made it yet, but Axl trusted Izzy to write their hits to launch their career. _

_ “Iz?” Axl asked. “What are you doing?” _

_ “Locked out,” Izzy told him, not looking up. “Was gonna go hang out at the rat trap with Stevie, Slash, and Duff, but Stevie’s at work, which means Duff’s there. And I don’t like Slash’s snakes.” Axl sat on the stairs by Izzy and looked over his shoulder. _

_ “Watchya working on?” He asked, reading the lyrics that Izzy had scribbled on the page. _

_ “I, uh, it’s a personal song for you…” Izzy stated before his heart started racing. “To sing to Stevie to maybe woo her.” _

_ “Oh really?” Axl read the lyrics and smiled. “I like it.” _

_ “Yeah?” Izzy looked at Axl, who was smiling at him. _

_ “I like everything you write man,” Axl elbowed him a little bit. “Come on, let’s get inside.” _

Axl’s body seemed to be running on autopilot as the memory played in his head, because he was still singing the song, but he was also staring at Izzy, who was focused on something very interesting on the stage. It all hit Axl like a brick wall then. Something he had never realized before, but now it was all coming at him.

The song was never for Axl to sing to Stevie.

The song was Izzy talking to Axl.

After the concert, Duff and Stevie went off to spend one last night as a family before Stevie headed back to Seattle, and the other guys went off to find their own things to do. Izzy was heading towards his room when Axl stopped him.

“Izzy, can we talk?” Axl asked.

“Not now,” Izzy shook his head. “Maybe later.” Whatever Axl wanted to tell him, Izzy wasn’t really in the mood to hear. So he headed into his room and shut the door, leaving Axl out in the hallway.

“Come on man,” Dizzy grabbed his arm. “There’s a bar with our name on it.” Axl looked back at Izzy’s door. He wanted to talk to the guitarist, but he figured that it could wait until another day. He headed out with the others to go to the bar.

****

“I’ll see you soon my little princess,” Duff told Hope as they stood outside the gate at the airport, waiting for Stevie and Hope’s flight to Seattle to be called. “You be good for mommy, okay?” He tickled her foot, making her laugh and kick her legs.

“You’ll be home before you know it,” Stevie smiled and kissed Duff gently.

“I love you,” He told her, staring into her eyes. “Thanks for coming out with us.”

“Anytime,” She smiled up at him. “I love you too.”

“Oh my god, you guys are so sweet I’m getting diabetes,” Slash grumbled. Izzy slapped his arm.

“We’ll see you later Stevie,” Izzy told her. Hope babbled at Izzy, almost like she was saying bye too. Their flight was called and Duff gave Stevie one more kiss before she boarded.

“I miss them already,” Duff sighed. Slash stuck his finger in his mouth and made a gagging motion while Izzy laughed. “You two are assholes.”

“What did I do?” Izzy asked. Duff walked past them, shaking his head.

“Come on losers, we need to get to New York City!” He called to them, and they followed him out of the airport.

****

Axl had tried to talk to Izzy a couple times on the ride to New York, but Izzy would blow him off. Izzy wasn’t in the mood to deal with him after the way he had acted at Stevie and Duff’s wedding. So Izzy always found other things to do to avoid the oncoming storm.

The final concert of the tour was going great. The crowd was eating it up, just like all of them had. But everyone was excited to head back to LA, Duff was itching to get back to Seattle. Axl wanted to start another album right away, not wanting it spaced out as much as Appetite for Destruction and Use Your Illusion had been. But he had agreed to give everyone a little time off to relax.

They had just gotten done doing “Double Talkin’ Jive” and Axl took his spot at the piano to do “November Rain”. As the song started, he looked up at Izzy. If Izzy didn’t want to talk to him on the bus, maybe he would listen to the words.

_ Nothin' lasts forever. And we both know hearts can change. _

Izzy was looking off to the side, glancing at Duff who had seen Axl’s stares at the guitarist. Axl continued to sing, just wanting Izzy to look his way.

_ If we could take the time to lay it on the line, I could rest my head just knowin' that you were mine. _

Everyone seemed to sense the extra emotion that Axl was putting into words. The crowd loved it. But Izzy did not. So he refused to look at the frontman.

_ So if you want to love me, then darlin' don't refrain _

“What is he doing?” Dizzy asked, leaving over to ask Matt.

“I don’t know man. Axl’s weird,” Matt replied. Dizzy nodded and went back to his part.

The song was over and they started a faster song, which seemed to set the tone for the rest of the concert, it was speeding by quickly. They took their bows and headed back to the hotel. Izzy went to his room and shut the door. There was a knock, and Izzy expected it to be Axl, but there was another voice that sure wasn’t the redhead.

“Izzy? Can we come in?” He heard Slash. Opening the door, he saw Duff and Slash standing there.

“What’s up guys?” He asked, letting them into his room.

“Is everything okay?” Duff asked in return.

“Yeah, why wouldn’t it be?” Izzy flopped back down on his bed and lit a cigarette.

“You’ve been avoiding Axl like he has the plague,” Slash pointed out. Izzy shrugged.

“So?” Izzy asked. “I have a right to avoid him.”

“Isn’t he your best friend?” Duff asked, to which Izzy sighed.

“You heard the song. Nothin’ lasts forever and we both know hearts can change,” Izzy took a puff off his cigarette. “We’re band mates. Nothing more, nothing less. Now, I’d like to get some sleep before we make the trip back to LA, okay?”

“Okay,” Duff sighed. “See you in the morning man.” Him and Slash walked out of Izzy’s room. “I have a bad feeling.”

“Fuck, don’t say that,” Slash sighed. “Let’s just get home and relax?”

“Yeah,” Duff nodded before heading to his room to get some sleep.

****

They were all chilling on the bus, leaving New York. They had gotten through New Jersey in record time, and were now in Pennsylvania. Duff was staring out the window, minding his own business. Everyone was trying to. Axl had woken up on the wrong side of the bed and was letting everyone have it from the moment management woke them up until they got on the bus.

But Dizzy couldn’t stand the silence anymore, so he decided to speak up.

“This tour has kicked our asses,” Dizzy told them. “I’m tired as fuck. I didn’t know it was going to be this hard.” 

“Well it might not have been this bad if Stevie wasn’t such a selfish bitch and got pregnant, then thought she had to bring her kid on tour with us,” Axl snapped. Slash felt Duff’s muscles tensing as he got angry. He was about ready to say something to the frontman, tired of the constant poking at Stevie, when a blur of black clothing jumped up and got in the redhead’s face. 

“Will you shut your fucking mouth?” Izzy snapped. Everyone froze at Izzy’s sudden outburst. “I’m so sick and fucking tired of it!”

“Well, if you don’t like it, you know where the door is,” Axl rolled his eyes. He thought it was an empty invitation, that Izzy would never respond to it. But then Izzy said something that he never in a million years thought he would hear him say.

“Okay. I quit,” Izzy told him, calmer than his normal chilled personality. “Stop the bus!” He shouted to the driver.

“Izzy, wait,” Slash tried to stop him, but Izzy grabbed his bags and had his guitar case on his back. Axl just stared at him, not really sure how to process this. Izzy had been his longest friend, they had been through everything together, and now he was leaving. The bus stopped and Izzy stepped off.

“I’ll talk to him,” Duff quickly got off the bus after him, watching as Izzy started walking in the opposite direction from the way they were going. “Izzy, wait!”

“Fucking hell Duff, how can you sit there and let him talk about your wife that way?” Izzy asked, turning to look at the bassist. “If Stevie was my wife, I would’ve hit him in his balls by now. Or worse.”

“Stevie told me to just ignore him,” Duff told him. “It’s Axl. He’s just an asshole.”

“Yeah, and he loved Stevie too you know,” Izzy told him, leaving some words left unsaid. “What do you think all of this attitude and bitterness is about? Axl fucking loved Stevie, and she chose you over him.”

“I…”

“Forget it,” Izzy shook his head. “I’ll call Stevie when I get to wherever it is I’m going. Don’t want her to worry. Get on the bus Duff.” Izzy patted the bus to tell the driver he could go before he started walking again, holding out his thumb at cars, hoping to hitch a ride to someplace with an airport so he could fly someplace. Duff sighed and got back on the bus, all eyes turning to him.

“Where’s Izzy?” Slash asked, looking at his friend. Duff shook his head.

“He’s gone,” Duff sighed, settling in his seat. The bus started to move then, and Duff knew there would be lots of questions that they would have to answer to Geffen when they got back.

“Good riddens,” Axl wiped at his eyes. “We don’t need him.” He hoped that no one heard the heartbreak in his voice as he turned to look out the window.

The rest of the ride back to California was tense, no one saying much of anything.

****

“Hey Stevie,” Izzy was standing at a payphone in Philadelphia. He was honestly kinda surprised that she had answered. “How’s the kid doing?”

“She’s great. Can’t wait for all her uncles to come see her,” Stevie could sense something in Izzy’s voice. “You didn’t just call me to check up on Hope, did you?” Izzy closed his eyes for a brief moment.

“Uh, not exactly,” Izzy admitted. “I called to tell you that I just quit.”

“Quit what exactly?”

“The band,” Izzy sighed. “I can’t do it anymore. I got off the bus in the middle of nowhere. Hitched a ride to Philadelphia. I gotta catch a flight but I don’t know where I want to go…”

“Izzy...” Stevie breathed. After everything, she was surprised that Izzy had quit the band. “Wait, what do you mean you don’t know where you want to go?”

“Well, I don’t want to go back to LA right now. I guess I could fly to Indy. Maybe go see my mom or something but I’m not really in the mood for that…” He trailed off.

“Come to Seattle,” Stevie told him. “Izzy, you’re one of my best friends and I’m really worried about you. Get your skinny Midwestern ass over here.” Izzy chuckled a little.

“Sure Duff won’t be pissed to find me alone there with his wife when he comes home?” Izzy asked, already knowing the answer.

“You know he won’t,” Stevie told him. “Get a flight to Seattle and let me know what time you should be landing. Hope and I will be waiting for you.”

“Okay. I have another call to make and then I’ll get my ticket.” They said their goodbyes then Izzy dialed another number. “Hey Vince.”

“Hey man, what’s up?” 

“I just wanted to tell you so you could tell the guys...I quit Guns…”

“What did Axl do?” Vince growled.

“It’s just… it’s been a long time coming,” Izzy sighed.

“Well, I’m calling bullshit on that one, but I won’t press you. But you know Tommy and Nikki will want to shake you down when I tell them.”

“Yeah, I kinda figured,” Izzy nodded. “I’m going to Seattle for a bit. I’ll let you guys know when I make it to LA.”

“Okay. And I’ll take care of Axl when he gets back here, don’t worry,” Vince told him. Izzy chuckled.

“Thanks Vince. See ya.” Izzy hung up before grabbing his things and going to book a ride to Seattle.


	28. Chapter 28

Stevie was waiting at the airport. Izzy would be landing any minute and she promised him she would pick him up when he landed. It was still going to be awhile before Duff called from LA to tell her when his flight was. He had wanted to fly straight from New York, but Geffen wanted to have a meeting with them.

Izzy’s flight landed a couple minutes later, and the poor rock star looked dead on his feet as he walked through the gate. Stevie offered him a smile as she walked up to him.

“Hey Iz,” She gave him a hug. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” He looked around. “Where’s Hope?”

“She’s with Marie,” Stevie told him. “I explained what happened and she agreed to watch her for a bit. I thought you would want to have dinner, but you look tired.”

“How about we get Hope, go back to your place, and order something?” Izzy suggested. Stevie nodded. The two headed out to Stevie’s car, throwing Izzy’s things in the trunk. They headed over to Marie’s, where a couple of Duff’s sisters were fawning over the baby.

“You’re back?” Marie asked. “Everything okay?” She looked over at Izzy, who was loitering in the doorway.

“Izzy’s a little jetlagged,” Stevie admitted. “We’re gonna order a pizza to the house.” Izzy looked over at Hope, who had started crying.

“She doesn’t like bandanas,” Izzy told Joan. She pulled the bandana off her head, and Hope calmed some. But hearing Izzy’s voice made her reach for him, and he took her.

“I didn’t know she’d be scared of it,” Carol pointed out.

“She hates Axl’s. It terrifies her,” Izzy told her.

“You should be a nanny,” Marie piped up. Izzy turned to look at her. “You’re really good with Hope.”

“Uncle Izzy is the best,” Stevie added. “Hope loves him.” She gave Marie a hug. “Thanks for watching her.”

“Anytime my dear,” Marie nodded. Stevie got Hope’s things and Izzy carried her out to the car. Stevie watched as he buckled her into her carseat.

“You’re a natural,” Stevie told him. Izzy shrugged and shut the door. “You know Marie is right. You could be Hope’s nanny.” She smiled. Izzy chuckled a bit.

“I love her, but I don’t think I’m up for nanny duties,” The two got into the car and headed towards the house. Once they got there, Izzy took his bags to the guest room while Stevie brought Hope in and ordered food for the adults.

“Do you think uncle Izzy’s okay Hope?” Stevie asked her daughter after she hung up the phone.

“Uncle Izzy’s fine,” Izzy responded, making Stevie jump. She turned to look at the guitarist.

“I mean, Guns is your band…” Stevie told him. “If it wasn’t for you, there wouldn’t have been an us, you know?”

“It hasn’t been my band since Axl got a taste of fame,” Izzy told her. “It hasn’t been my band in a long time.” He headed into the living room and flopped onto the couch. Stevie got Hope situated before settling in her large chair. 

“Iz, there is no band without you,” Stevie told him. “I mean, you guys proved you don’t need me.”

“That’s not true!”

“Izzy, it is,” Stevie sighed. “But there is no Guns n’ Roses without you. Because you write the songs the fans want to hear. You write the music. And as much as I love my husband, he’s too punk to keep it going on the same path it should be, and Axl won’t admit it but he’s too glam.” Izzy chuckled a bit.

“Things haven’t been the same since you left,” Izzy sighed. “Matt’s good and all, but he’s not our Rocket Queen.” He smirked a little. Stevie smacked his arm.

“You're as bad as Tommy,” She rolled her eyes. “But seriously though, you know that Duff and I’ll support you no matter what you decide to do.”

“I have some songs that Axl said didn’t fit our image. Maybe I could record those on my own?”

“There you go!” Stevie smiled. “And we know you can sing! You were holding out on us Mr. Stradlin.”

“I’m a man of many talents,” Izzy leaned back. Stevie shook her head as the doorbell rang. She got the money to pay for the food and traded the delivery boy for the food. She sat it on the coffee table and went to get drinks for them. Izzy smiled softly as he looked at the food. He heard Hope making her cute baby noises. Maybe being a nanny wouldn’t be so bad.

That was until Hope started crying. Izzy jumped, not expecting it. Princess Peach looked up from his bed but immediately went back to staring out the window. Stevie sighed and got up to check on Hope.

“You sure you don’t want to be Nanny Izzy?” Stevie laughed a little as she took Hope to change her. Izzy just shook his head.

“No, I think I’m perfectly fine just being Uncle Izzy.”

****

Later that evening, after Hope was in bed, Izzy was sitting on the couch, watching the Seattle news. Stevie came in from locking up the back door and handed him a bottle of beer.

“Uh, thanks,” Izzy accepted it. Stevie flopped down in her chair.

“So, wanna talk about it?” She asked. Izzy raised an eyebrow. “I know we kinda talked about it earlier.”

“Stevie, I’m fine,” Izzy sighed. “I didn’t realize that you had become a shrink on your maternity leave.”

“Okay, okay. Sorry.” Stevie took a sip of her drink, letting the TV fill the silence. Izzy sighed and picked at his beer bottle.

“Fourteen years,” He grumbled. Stevie looked up at him. “I think I realized I was gay when I was about 15. About the time that I met Axl.”

“Fourteen years of silence, fourteen years of pain,” Stevie looked up at him. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I was raised in a “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” type of environment. Lafayette isn’t known to include LGBT people, especially in the 70’s. And you see how they treated openly gay men in the 80’s Stevie. It took so much fucking courage to even tell you and Duff. And to tell Axl and…”

“What did he say to you?” She asked.

“Nothing,” Izzy sighed.

“Come on Iz, we’re being open. What did he say?”

“That’s what I mean. He said nothing,” Izzy told her. “He just...kinda stood there.”

“Oh…” Stevie nodded. “Maybe Axl isn’t the right guy for you, especially right now.” Izzy nodded. “But you know, Seattle has a really good club scene. Maybe we could find you a boyfriend. And the nanny offer is still open.” Izzy laughed.

“God, you’re determined, aren’t you?” Izzy smiled at her. “We’ll talk about it later. Right now, let’s watch a movie just like the old days?” Stevie nodded and went to pick out a movie for the two of them to watch.

****

Izzy kept Hope at home while Stevie went to pick Duff up from the airport a few days later. Geffon had been furious to find out that Izzy had quit, but all attempts to call him had failed, because he was in Seattle, not LA. Stevie brough Duff back home, Hope giving happy baby squeals when she saw her dad.

“So, how pissed is everyone at me?” Izzy asked as Duff placed little kisses all over his daughter’s face.

“Well, Slash, Matt, and Dizzy get it. Axl was fuming. And Geffon...already replaced you.” Duff explained. Stevie’s eyes widened and she looked over at Izzy.

“What? How?” She asked.

“His name is Gilby. He did a bunch of club shit around LA or something. He’s not bad but…”

“It doesn’t matter,” Izzy cut Duff off. “I’m done with Guns n’ Roses. They can have their Gilby or whatever the fuck they want to do. I’m done with it all.” Duff looked over at Stevie. Neither of them had heard Izzy get like this before. “Now, I found this thing I want to make for us. I need to go to the store. Can I borrow a car please?”

“Yeah,” Stevie gave Izzy the keys to her car and he headed out.

“What happened to Izzy?” Duff asked, staring at his wife.

“I think he’s tired after fourteen years,” Stevie told him. Duff looked confused. “The song is about his struggles. For the last fourteen years, he’s known he was gay and had to keep it a secret, and Axl really didn’t help.”

“I guess not everyone gets our happy ending,” Duff sighed, smiling at his daughter. All Stevie could do was nod.


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry I've been neglecting this fic. And I'm totally screwing up the GNR history timeline.

Izzy stayed a week with the McKagan’s. But after a week of jamming with Duff and helping Stevie take care of Hope, Izzy decided to head out.

“I’m gonna go see my mom,” Izzy told Stevie as he packed up his stuff. “My brother is bringing his new baby and she really wants me to see my nephew.” He smiled at Stevie. “Don’t miss me too much.”

“You’re so full of yourself,” She laughed, returning his smile.

“I’ll call you when I land at Indy,” Izzy told her. “Thanks for putting up with my ass the past week.”

“Hey man, we’re not putting up with you,” Duff laughed, standing in the doorway behind Stevie. “And you’re more than welcome to come here whenever you want.” Izzy just smiled at them. “Ready to go man? I got the car ready.”

“Yeah,” He took his last bag and followed Duff downstairs with Stevie following them. Hope was napping, and while Izzy was sad that he didn’t get to say bye to his niece, he knew he’d probably see her before long. Stevie hugged the guitarist.

“Have fun in Indiana,” She smiled at him. “We’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you guys too.” Izzy laughed a little before heading out to the car with Duff. They started heading towards the airport.

“So, are you going straight to Indy from here?” Duff asked, not quite sure what to say to Izzy. Things had been a little tense between the two of them, but Stevie had helped ease some of it.

“Nah,” Izzy was looking out the window. “I’m going to LA to pick some things up. Thinking about putting my place up for sale and such.”

“Wait, you’re not just going to Indiana to visit your mom, are you?” Duff asked.

“Unlike Axl, I actually kinda enjoyed Indiana,” Izzy told him. “I know that when I get there, no one will know who I am. And my hometown still knows me just as Jeffrey.”

“But, what about that other thing?” Duff asked. Izzy looked at him, raising an eyebrow. “The gay thing.”

“I’m sure I’ll be fine,” Izzy shook his head. “Are you and Stevie okay though?”

“Of course we are. Why wouldn’t we be?” Duff cast a glance over at Izzy. “Did she say something?”

“No,” Izzy shook his head. “Just, things haven’t seemed the same with you two since we were in Michigan.” He shrugged. “But maybe that’s just me.”

“Stevie and I are just fine,” Duff told him. “We’re happy.” 

“Okay,” Izzy looked back out the window. Before long, they were pulling up at the airport. “I, uh, I’ll see you around Duff.”

“Yeah, man. Have fun in Indiana.” Izzy nodded, got his things, and headed inside, leaving Duff wondering why Izzy thought there were issues between him and Stevie.

****

Izzy made his way into his place. It was so quiet, but that didn’t really surprise him. He sat his things on a big armchair he had and headed towards his room to pack up some new things to take with him to Indiana. He wasn’t sure how long he was going to be there honestly, but he wanted to be prepared to stay for a while.

As he walked towards his bedroom, he saw the light on his answering machine blinking. He pressed play on the machine, listening to the messages as he went about packing. Different people from Geffen, friends, family. He’d call Geffen when he got to Indiana and have them send the separation paperwork there. He really didn’t care anymore.

“Izzy, that was fucking selfish,” Izzy heard Axl’s voice. “And now you’re hiding? Slash said he didn’t know where you went but I think he’s lying. Why won’t you answer your fucking phone?”

“Because I wanted to get away from you,” Izzy grumbled to himself.

“Whatever. Don’t come crawling back to me.” Axl huffed before hanging up. Izzy shook his head and gathered up the rest of his things that he knew he would need. As he headed towards the door, he heard his phone ring. He stopped for a minute, thinking about answering it, before he just turned off the light and walked out the door.

_ Hey, this is Izzy. Leave a message. _

“Iz. It’s Axl. I’m sorry about the messages I left. I just, fuck, I don’t do good with emotions. You’ve known me all these years. I always get angry when I’m sad and shit. I just...please call me back Iz. Just let me know you’re okay. Izzy...I love you too.”

****

Duff sat in one of the large chairs, watching as Stevie played with Hope. Hope was laughing at the attention, loving all the kisses and tickles from her mom. Duff smiled, but something in the back of his head was bugging him.

“Hey Stevie?” Duff asked. She looked up at him.

“Yeah babe?”

“Are we okay?” He asked. She raised an eyebrow.

“Of course. Why wouldn’t we be?” She asked, confused.

“I just...it’s nothing,” Duff shook his head. “Just overthinking I guess.”

“Come here Hope. I think daddy needs all the love.” She carried their daughter over to him and snuggled into his side. “We’re great, unless there’s something you’re not telling me.” Hope laid on Duff’s chest, smiling at him.

“I just want to make sure that things are going good,” He told her. “Because I don’t want to lose this.”

“We’re not going anywhere,” Stevie told him. “Even when I get frustrated at you and don’t want to be in the same room, I’m not leaving you.” Duff pulled her closer into his side.

“I just have a feeling that things are going to start changing,” Duff told her. “When I go to Japan on the second leg of the tour.”

“Well, hopefully not between us,” She told him.

“No, I don’t think it’ll be between us,” Duff explained. “I think Axl’s going to do something...”

“Well, if he does, you have music. We’ll get you studio time and get you an album recorded.” Duff smiled at her and kissed her.

“You’re so supportive,” He laughed. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too Duff,” She rested against him. “I’m sure that Japan will turn out just fine.”

****

Duff wished that Stevie had been right. He wished that everything had turned out just fine, but, for the first time in a long time, Stevie was wrong. Things had been going good, Axl just being his normal, bitchy self. Everyone in the band made sure to avoid the Izzy subject, even Gilby. But the media didn’t get that memo, and everyone could tell that Axl was getting irritated, being asked what had happened to the once-beloved rhythm guitarist.

It was after a practically irritating interview that the band was all gathered for their plane ride back to California. Duff hadn’t been able to see or talk to Stevie or Hope since they got to Japan, but he sure had bought them enough gifts and sent them enough postcards to make up for it. Everyone was missing someone, including Axl.

“I’ve got another guitarist I’m going to be looking at when we get back,” Axl told them as they got on the plane. “His name is Paul.”

“Come on man, we don’t need three guitarists,” Matt spoke up, saying what the others were thinking. “Gilby and Slash got this.”

“No, I think we really need Paul.” Axl pointed out.

“Look, just because we don’t have the great and powerful Izzy Stradlin doesn’t mean we need three fucking guitarists,” Matt told him. Axl turned to look at the drummer.

“You’re fired,” Axl said, no emotion in his voice or anything.

“What the fuck?” Matt asked. “All because I fucking stood up to you?”

“Axl man, that’s not a cool joke,” Slash pointed out. Axl glared at Slash.

“You know what, you can follow him.” Axl told him. “So can you Duff.”

“What did I do?” Duff asked.

“You screwed Stevie, that’s what,” Matt huffed. “At least he didn’t fuck Izzy too. Axl would probably kill him.” Axl hauled off and punched Matt then, square in the mouth. Gilby and Dizzy quickly grabbed Axl to stop him from hitting anyone else, and Duff and Slash stood with Matt.

“The three of you are done,” Axl hissed. “The minute we get back to California, you’re done.”

“Fine by me,” Matt wiped his lip. “Good fucking riddance.” Axl locked himself in the bathroom after he pulled free from Gilby and Dizzy, leaving the now broken band standing there.

****

“Hey baby!” Stevie smiled when Duff arrived at the Seattle airport. He dropped his bag and hugged her, burying his face in her hair. “What’s wrong?”

“I got fired,” He mumbled. “Axl fired me, Slash, and Matt.”

“He did what?” She asked. “Oh my god.”

“Matt and Slash are going to come up next week and we’re going to discuss some things,” He finally pulled back. Stevie could see how upset he was. “I’m glad Izzy got out when he did.”

“Come on Duff,” Stevie took his hand. “Your mom has Hope, and I think you need to relax a little bit.” Together, they went to the car to head home, Duff trying to think of what he was going to do next to support his family.


End file.
